Margaret Dulaney moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, after living in New York City where she wrote for the theater. She decided to create essays exploring divine themes through story and metaphor. In 2010, Dulaney started recording her writings.
Most of these creative and meditative pieces are transcripts of posts on her spoken word website www.listenwell.org. New ones are offered once a month. Spoken word essays, if done this well, can be intimate and communal; they stir the senses and fuel our dreams.
According to the author, the writings in this collection have been hatched during 25 years of morning walks in the woods with her dogs. In the foreword, mystical writer Sophy Burnham commends these essays for being "thoughtful, self-aware, brimming with questioning and curiosity, and the pursuit of the meaning to life."
Since we have been pondering the significance of listening as a spiritual practice, we took note of Dulaney's essay on "Good Listening." She adds a few new twists to this topic when she notes:
"Listening, true listening cannot be forced. Listening is an allowing. It is like falling asleep. It is letting go… If you wish to learn the art of listening, try and hold the mind still. Hold it gently, and wait. There's time enough. There's always enough time, an eternity of time."
Often Dulaney speaks of the inspiration and the wisdom of dead writers (like George MacDonald) and her Labrador Tater. We were especially impressed with her musings on kindness, friendship, detachment, birds, awakening, prayer, faith, openness to surprises, and being light-bearers.
