Hints of Hope | Ryan J. Pelton

Ryan J. Pelton | Hints of Hope

Latest — May 18, 2022

Countercultural Practices

“Dwelling, lingering, pondering, listening, praying- these are all countercultural practices. They slow us into a silence that has to be reclaimed, sometimes with fierce intention, from the noise and haste and forward momentum of daily life. Many of us have normalized busyness to the point of chronic overload. Staying with,

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Orwell on Artistic Political Writing

Orwell said: “What I have most wanted to do throughout the past ten years is to make political writing into an art. My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice. When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I

Open Letter to Inmate 157103

We know what you did. The 200 mile drive wasn’t accidental and a leisurely drive to visit old friends in Buffalo. These were not friends. You saw them as other. Non-beings. You had murder on your breath and in your heart on May 14, 2022. You came to eliminate

Too Funny to Fail and the Gifts of Failure

Dana Carvey, the comedic legend of Saturday Night Live fame, was riding high from 1986 to 1993. Best known for his impressions and character work. Garth from Wayne’s World, both Bush Presidents, many other President impressions, the Church Lady, and other parodies of people brought Carvey into the pop

Our Little Window

From writer Brian Doyle: “We’re only here for a minute,” Brian once reminded us. “We’re here for a little window. And to use that time to catch and share shards of light and laughter and grace seems to me the great story.” How supreme he was at telling

Thy Kingdom Come (Aramaic translation)

Create your reign of unity now- Through our fiery hearts And willing hands. Let your counsel rule our lives, Clearing our intention For co-creation. Unite our “I can” to yours, so that We walk as kings and queens with every creature. Desire with and through us The rule of universal

Winning Time and the Curse of Competition

The last episode of Winning Time reveals the soul of the show: winning will never be enough. The show is about a lot of things. How the Los Angeles Lakers went from a dying franchise to a championship factory in the 80s. Winning Time is a peek into the flailing

A Place I Love...

Head west down Main Street and when you see the pier on the left, take the small ramp down to the parking lot and you’ll see it. Exit your vehicle or bike and perhaps take off your boots or shoes or sandals because we’re treading on holy ground.

How to Be a Poet

(to remind myself) i Make a place to sit down. Sit down. Be quiet. You must depend upon affection, reading, knowledge, skill—more of each than you have—inspiration, work, growing older, patience, for patience joins time to eternity. Any readers who like your poems, doubt their judgment. ii Breathe

What Do I Write About?

From Frederick Buechner: “Write about what truly matters to you—not just things to catch the eye of the world but things to touch the quick of the world the way they have touched you to the quick, which is why you are writing about them. Write not just with