🌅 Reflection

• 🪞Polishing the Mirror

  Explore how Rumi's poetic mirrors reflect the soulful journey of Sufism, blending divine love with psychological insights.

• 🏆Best Stories of 2020

  Explore the top HISTORY This Week podcast stories from 2020. Producers and researchers reveal favorite episodes and behind-the-scenes info.

• 🌲The quietest place in the lower forty-eight

  This excerpt highlights the profound tranquility of Olympic National Park and its unique auditory experience in nature.

• 🌌Perfect boredom

  Exploring the intriguing nature of boredom and its potential beauty in a world of peace and familiarity.

• 🌈The upside of disaster

  Solnit explores the surprising joy that emerges from the rubble of disasters, revealing deep desires for community and connection.

• 🌈Ecstatically between the pillows and the books

  In this excerpt from David Foster Wallace's _The Pale King_, the author explores the intertwining of childhood ecstasy and maternal love through evocative imagery and a sense of magic in the everyday.

• 🌬️California dreaming, on such a winter’s day

  A beautiful capture by Mary Amor evokes the serene yet windy essence of a Southern California winter.

• 🌾Wait till evening

  Quoting Henry David Thoreau.

• 🖌️Highland Light, North Truro, Massachusetts, by Edward Hopper

  This painting captures my admiration for Edward Hopper’s portrayal of desolation and his quick outdoor sketching style.

• 🦚Like a cheer for an invisible parade

  Quoting Flannery O'Connor.

• 🏡Verda with Her Yard Art, by Dave Jordano

  I love how the porch's shadow elegantly mirrors the stairs below it.

• 🌊Astoria Pool, by Angie Smith

  Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer, and this beautiful image captures the essence of the Astoria Pool in Queens, NY.

• 🌱Real simple

  Exploring Wendell Berry's thoughts on complexity and simplicity reveals the deeper connections we must navigate in life.

• 🤠These are a few of my favorite German country-western song titles

  A humorous exploration of German Country music and its quirky celebration of Americana culture.

• 🕊️Some dim dazzling trick of grace

  Reflecting on the poignant moments in Walker Percy’s _The Moviegoer_, particularly regarding faith and presence.

• 🌌To be united with the beauty that we see

  In reflecting on the essence of beauty and our connection to it, C. S. Lewis beautifully articulates a profound longing within the human spirit.

• 🌌Largely a matter of distance

  A reflection on the dark journeys we undertake, as illustrated through history and myth.

• 🏞️The noisy, crowded past

  Reflecting on the contrasts of solitude and noise throughout human history, Alan Jacobs looks into the complexities of personal space.

• 🚶The mind is also a landscape

  An exploration of the harmonious relationship between walking, thought, and the world around us, inspired by Rebecca Solnit's reflections.

• 🌅Aerial photo, source unknown

  A reflection on the allure of stunning aerial photography that transcends ordinary satellite views.

• 🐦Super Kingdom by London Fieldworks

  Inspired by the hibernation patterns of local animals, this series of show homes evokes a blend of biblical imagery, reminiscent of the Tower of Babel and Noah's Ark, intertwining themes from the Garden of Eden and the New Jerusalem.

• 🌳Gourdon’s Garden, Provence, France

  The perspective captured in this photo beautifully contrasts the cultivated gardens with the wild canyon below, showcasing the gardeners diligently tending to the hedges.

• 🛫Flying, by Joseph Brunjes

  I love the combination of this kid's gesture of abandon and look of rapt concentration. Serious fun indeed.

• 🌲A pleasant nonplace

  An exploration of finding peace in an unremarkable life amidst turbulent times.

• 🌌Onion field, rural Washington, by Emily Gatch

  A fascinating glimpse into a field of mature onions going to seed, showcasing their unique floral structures. "Onions that have gone to seed are so cool -- you may have seen ornamental alliums around town, with big bulbous balls, often purple. A field of onion flowers looks like an outerspace commodity."

• 🔥“Blacksmith Shop”, by Czeslaw Milosz

  A reflection on how childhood can connect us to our life's callings, as illustrated in Czeslaw Milosz's evocative poem, "Blacksmith Shop."

• 🚆Train crossing, Bangalore, South India

  Watching this video triggers slight and not unpleasant olfactory memories of my own times in B'lore in the late '90.