Dear Noël,

Winchester England

I received an email yesterday that just had to be savored. I'd been anticipating it for a few weeks, but when it came at work I knew that I needed to be at home with a cup of tea, and I am so glad that I waited. One of my professors and I have become quite good friends, and she moved to England for a year with her husband. He's editing a new edition of nineteenth century poetry at the university of Winchester; she earned a fellowship to complete a biography that she has been working on for several years. Here is one reason why I knew that this would be a letter to savor:

"Winchester is exactly as you imagine it...'a nice reprieve.' We have slowed down and simplified, and we are really enjoying it. Today, for example, we just wandered around town, went to an exhibit at the public library on tea, got to know this great little library better, walked around the Farmer's Market, did a couple errands, and got lunch at the supermarket that we ate on the grass on the grounds of the cathedral."

Beyond the quaintness of her life in England, she speaks with wisdom from her experience and learning:

"Loving many things and many people, and having many responsibilities, in America can mean you run yourself ragged. Strangely, my English, German, and Canadian friends do not seem to struggle with this like we do. "Everyone only has 24 hours in the day," a Flemish woman told me once... Too many people I know experience a great amount of pride in suffering through their busy lives--I think I did too. And I also have worried about our society's lack of value on 'thinking, wondering, and insightfully sharing about matters of life.' Do people go to church to do this? Attend small groups? I've certainly had experiences like these there. But I've also experienced soul crushing dogma. My 3 years in Spain taught me the value of conversation, and I suppose I've tried to keep this in my life by seeking out friends who like to do this. They are not easy to find. I do hope that you and I ponder "matters of life" together when I am back! "

I have definitely enjoyed the opportunity to engage with her, and I want to share a link that she sent, to an interview with philosopher Jacob Needleman, professor at San Francisco State. He discusses the spiritual foundation of democracy at America's origin. Click here to listen and download, and give it a full hour's attention, which is necessary to hear all components of the interview.