Marilyn R. Gardner's Blog, page 57

Imagine for a Moment…

“Rootlessness — the implied weakness of it — is treated as a failure. That is plainly schizophrenic: In a world where one in seven people is displaced, the failure must be of planetary scale. It belongs to all of us. This is a century of dislocation not merely of body and home, but also of [...]

On the Anniversary of a Death

Dear Brit, I woke up thinking about you today. It’s not the first time. For someone who doesn’t know you that well, it may seem odd. You entered our lives when Stef went on a gap year. You, Gilly, and Stef — I can just see the three of you taking Milan and YWAM by [...]

A House of Cards

Note: I wrote this piece four years ago, right after my fifth child graduated from high school. Before this past weekend, I felt exactly like this post. Then came the weekend and the gift of rest, the gift of peace. So I’m not in the same place right now. But perhaps some of you are [...]

Living as a Beloved One

We spontaneously dropped in on friends last evening. This area of the United States is not fond of spontaneous visits. Much better to plan. But planning gets wearisome and so we decided to go against the cultural norms. We arrived on our friends doorsteps as they were finishing dinner. We picked the right people. We [...]

The Bubbles Inside our Heads

Every time I do a workshop on culturally responsive health care, I use the picture above. The audience sees it on a big screen and I give them a minute to take it in. ThenI ask them “What’s wrong with this picture?” It’s not long until someone gets it; until someone says “They are stereotyping [...]

Unsettled.

Originally posted on Emily Greene:
This post is a response to “I’m From…” found at Communicating.Across.Boundaries. Originally written on my personal blog under maiden name Emily Harris. Istanbul, Turkey. Photo Credit: Emily Greene. Instagram. I am from generations of pioneers. I follow trails made by unsettled hearts seeking more. ? I am from dusty shoes…

Still Life

They call it “still life” –a genre of art where the object or objects are inanimate. The artist has control over the subject and the painting, drawing, or photograph emerges from that control. It can be flowers, rocks, a glass, dishes, a pitcher — anything at all that doesn’t move. Still life art makes us [...]

TCK Reunions – An Invisible Bond

TCK Reunions—an invisible bond by Robynn “A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated [...]

Simply Grace

Frustrated, I stood outside amovie theatre. I had two extra tickets to ashow, completely free, no strings attached. Two tickets on opening weekend of a show everyone was talking about – everyone wanted to see it. My daughter’s two friends had been unable to attend, so rather than let the tickets go unused, we found [...]

The Places we Belong

“The place to which you feel the strongest attachment isn’t necessarily the country you’re tied to by blood or birth: it’s the place that allows you to become yourself. This place may not lie on any map.” – Jhumpa Lahiri On Saturday we celebrated my father’s 90th birthday. 90 years! It is incredible to think [...]