Jan Elfline Stories

The Garden

I was confronted this morning with the kind of shift you might know well. It is the step from acquiring knowledge and understanding something, to living it, having it become

Cross Quarter Day

May First, halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Just wanted to remind anyone who likes marking these in betweens. We mark our conclusions so easily, but there

Duck meets Elf

I love this picture of Drake and me. It was snapped while we were sitting on the porch of my house in town before we were married. It was completely

Straight and Crooked

Given the choice at any moment, most of us want to take the straight route from now to the desired future. Save time. Save effort. Easy. Point me in the

Is there a world without electricity?

Is there a world anymore without electricity? Here in the countryside, we lose our electricity once in awhile for a few hours. It is always an event, special, unusual; we

Real Wealth: Wanting and Enough

I was just now looking out the window, and a turkey hen walked across the lawn. The ground is white and it is snowing in steady, small flakes. It is

2012 Endings

Here is a stupid (as in simple-minded) thought; this year has a different name than last year, or next year. This year is named 2012. All of the news of

Cross Quarter Days

We are coming up on the most famous of them all here in North America, Halloween. A cross quarter day is halfway between a solstice and an equinox. There are

Not Knowing

I was preparing for a coaching conference in London and I found myself, yet again, attempting to articulate both the attitude and the skill set of masterful coaching. It seems

Pressure Words

“I should, I have to, I ought to, I need to, I must”… sound familiar? These phrases have a precise name, “modal operators of necessity,” but I call them pressure

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