About The Long Unbecoming
This is a space for exploring what it means to be human, together.
Most of what you’ll find here begins in small, lived moments. At home. At work. In relationships. In the messy middle of things going well and things falling apart. From there, the writing follows what those moments seem to be asking of us—about presence, honesty, connection, and the quiet work of letting go of what gets in the way.
The title points to a tension that runs through it all. We spend much of our lives trying to become someone. More capable. More certain. More put together. Or perhaps more truly ourselves beneath all the expectations and shoulds we’ve taken on. That often involves a kind of uncovering. Learning to own our strengths and our flaws, which are often not so separate, and letting go of what never quite fit.
As we follow that thread, something else begins to loosen. The idea that we are fixed, separate, and in control of who we are becoming starts to give way. What emerges instead is something more fluid and relational. Who we are changes from moment to moment. Shaped by others, shaping them in return. Made up of each other in ways that are difficult to fully see.
This is not a rejection of becoming. It is an invitation to hold both. And sometimes, to loosen our grip on the need to become at all.
The pieces here are mostly short, often in free verse, with occasional longer reflections when something wants more space. They are not instructions or answers so much as attempts to notice more clearly and explore what holds true.
This work is also a practice. Most of these pieces are written and shared in close proximity, with an emphasis on regularity and honesty (vulnerability, even) over polish. The hope is that the work reflects the same inquiry and habit of showing up that it points to.
About me
I come to this work as a writer, and as someone shaped by a long and somewhat winding path. The son of two evangelical ministers, I spent many years immersed in Western ways of thinking and knowing: math and economics, theology, philosophy, business, computer science. Logic, systems, and structure. That training still lives in the background, even as I’ve learned to hold it more lightly.
Over time, that path has widened. More than two decades of contemplative practice, primarily in Insight (Vipassana) and Thích Nhất Hạnh traditions, have shifted how I relate to those earlier frameworks. Less about solving or defining; more about noticing, allowing, and being changed by what is here. The writing grows out of that ongoing integration.
I’m part of the Insight Meditation Community of Denver, where I serve on the board and offer talks on mindfulness in daily life. I’m also a certified mindfulness facilitator and occasionally speak with groups interested in bringing these practices into everyday life.
All of this background informs my work, but none of it is required to meet it.
Everything here is offered freely. If the work is meaningful to you, you’re welcome to share it, respond to it, or support it.
Mostly, this is a place to return to, again and again, as we try imperfectly to be more present, more honest, and more connected.
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