Author: gracesmuggler

U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón wrote an original poem dedicated to NASA’s Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa, which is believed to harbor a vast ocean beneath its icy surface.

Narrated by Limón herself, the poem is entitled “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa” and it connects two water worlds — Earth, yearning to reach out and understand what makes a world habitable, and Europa, waiting with secrets yet to be explored. The poem will be engraved on a plaque carried aboard the Europa Clipper spacecraft.

Merry Christmas! It is 12 days long after all. Welcome to Day 2.

Here’s one of my favorite Christmas bops. Enjoy!

To all who celebrate, Merry Christmas. I appreciate you. whatever you’re doing today, and however you’re spending your time, please know that you are valued.

Last night, I attended Christmas Eve services, and we sang these words from “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

I was thinking about how in the story of Christmas, apart from the shepherds who hear about this birth in their fields, hardly anyone knows about any of this. This birth is silent to most, unknown. People don’t know that this has taken place. How silently, how silently…

And whether this story is a part of your traditions or not, and whether you find yourself drawn to religious texts and stories or not, there is something beautiful in this message.

A birth has happened and in the most unlikely of places. This child will eventually become a person who speaks and works for liberation, transformation, and love, and as of yet, hardly anyone knows this goodness is coming. He’s not on their radar. This movement-to-come is not on their radar.

Could it be that there is goodness taking place in our own day? People, experiences, connections, communities, and synchronicities having their beginning now, which will one day lead to liberation, transformation, and love? And maybe we don’t even yet know about it?

— Renee Roederer

When was the last time you let yourself pause? Not to plan the next move or gather your thoughts, but to be with yourself and what’s around you?

The world often equates action with worth, but a pause—an honest, intentional pause—can be the most powerful thing we do. It’s where clarity lives, where intuition speaks, and where the noise fades. Maybe today, you can find your pause and listen to what it has to say.

— Renee Roederer

I made the smiley face on the left outside the grocery store. After leaving the store, I realized that I forgot something I wanted, so I went back. Then I was greeted by two snowy smiley faces.

— Renee Roederer

— Photos by Renee Roederer

We don’t like tension. It’s uncomfortable, unsettling, and we want it resolved, preferably quickly. But some of the most important moments in our lives happen in the tension: the space between the question and the answer, the decision and its consequences, the pain and the healing. What if holding tension, rather than rushing to solve it, is actually a crucial act? What if it’s in that in-between space where transformation happens?

— Renee Roederer

Have you ever stopped to consider how heavy “should” can feel?
“I should be further along.”
“I should have handled that differently.”
“I should know what to do.”

“Should” rarely invites kindness. It demands, it judges, it measures.

Stop shoulding all over yourself.

— Renee Roederer