marlene kelly

  • Home Is Where the Hope Is

    “Hope is the shape of love not yet experienced, the DNA-deep knowledge of what we’re meant to experience.” —Martha Beck I just got back from a trip home where I spent time at a barbecue with my cousin’s family, my brother and sister-in-law, my niece and a few little children running around, swimming, playing musical…

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  • There’s a party going on in the hallway of my building right now. You’d think it was New Year’s Eve. An invasion of drunken men are howling like dogs. Doors open and slam close and a young woman slurred “Oh my god, what are you doing out there?” All day long indecipherable house music throbs…

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  • Where is this relationship headed anyway?  Whether you’ve been dating for six months or married for sixteen years, this is a question many people frequently ask themselves. Everyone wants to know the end game, the bottom line, the final score, as if knowing the answer would save you from a broken heart, a bruised ego, an…

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  • The mirror has not been kind to me Reflecting back what I don’t want to see. Where I am trapped when I feel free, Locked inside the cage, when I see the key. I leave my body. I go away. Sometimes for an hour, perhaps a day. Where nothingness is everything. Where my heart can’t talk, but…

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  • I’m the kind of person who speaks her mind even when other people don’t like it. This can either be an endearing trait or a dangerous one. Don’t get me wrong, I know when I should hold my tongue, but sometimes I choose not to despite the consequences. In the past, I’ve justified this behavior…

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  • An Ode to Yoda

    The movie Star Wars came out when I was six years old. I remember sitting in the dark movie theater completely mesmerized by the power of the force. Growing up Catholic, the only word that even came close to describing this kind of magical intuitive energy was the holy spirit, which wasn’t nearly as interesting…

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  • I have a distinctive voice. The kind of voice teachers wanted to hear read books aloud to the class. Part gravel and part bubble, my voice even as a child had enough weight to be taken seriously, but enough enthusiasm to be the captain of the cheerleading squad. I can’t stand to hear my voice…

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  • Day 14: #Trust30 Project This is the first summer since I was twelve years old that I haven’t worked. When I think back on that particular summer, I remember being so sick and moonfaced from the prednisone prescribed to me while I was hospitalized to control my Crohn’s Disease, I wasn’t able to play softball even…

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  • Day 13: #Trust30 Project When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good, shall be…

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  • Day 12: #Trust30 Project I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, if we follow the truth, it will bring us out safe at last. – Ralph Waldo Emerson It’s hard for me to surprise myself. I know all my tricks so well. Many areas…

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