The Quiet Ambassador

Dear Listener, It has come up before, many times during our decade plus of service as volunteer listeners, that the Listening Post is countercultural. The term counterculture implies not just a way of being that is different from the main stream culture, but a way...

Why Did They Do That?

Why did they do that?   Recently I was listener to someone describing a difficult situation they had found themselves in. They were venting, letting it all go, telling every detail of what had happened and how they reacted to what was happening. At first, I was...

A Confession Of The Impulse To Help

Today, along side my parents, I went into a nursing home to visit my aunt. As we walked down the hall toward my aunt’s door, another resident called out repeatedly from their room. I turned to my mother, ‘Will someone go to her?’ My mother replied...

Reflections on Solstice

The Summer Solstice: Standing Still I’m writing this newsletter on the day of summer solstice, June 21st. I notice a lot of my friends in the Lower 48 aren’t as familiar with this observance, but here in AK, we luxuriate in the apex of the long of hours of...

Listening is in a Category of Its Own

I have met a few advocates for the homeless population here in Kodiak. One advocate, in particular, touched my heart this past week. Kodiak held its first Project Homeless Connect (PHC) back in March and recently a few folks, including myself, gathered to discuss what...

Started with Little Things

This week my offering is a simple poem, a little thing. Listening is a little thing. On the surface, anyway. And yet, listening is touching the field of humanity… and loving the world. “Started with Little Things,” by William Stafford… Love the...