Mary Caroline Whims

As I sit down to write this, I feel a mixture of gratitude and something like shame. Recent news stories hang heavy in our collective consciousness, and meanwhile here I am writing about art and culture. How well does your life have to be going, how privileged must you be, that you have the time…

When I started reading Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. A few friends of mine had finished the book and given me glowing reviews. They dropped intriguing tidbits like “reading deprivation week” and “taking care of your inner artist child.” My inner monk/artist/psychologist junkie was piqued, and…

I’m sitting down to write this blog post with the intention of finishing it in less than forty minutes. Let’s see how it goes. It’s simple, really: I just want to tell a story. There once was a girl who went to college, a sophomore with dreams of becoming a gifted writer. In the margins…

Before I start this post, let me say that I learned about The Jesus Hangover by hearsay, and not from experience. Katya is the one who told me about The Jesus Hangover. I met her in Thessaloniki, Greece. She’s twice my age with a close-cropped head of gray hair, which she likes to cover with…

I am worthy of good things. I accept myself for who I am. I deserve to be kind to myself. It was January of 2022. I sat cross-legged on the floor of my room, headphones on, listening to a calm female voice repeating positive affirmations. “Listen to these, and then repeat them as you feel…

About a year ago, I put up a picture of Mary in my room. It’s a print of Botticelli’s “Mary with the Child and Singing Angels.” In the image, the young mother gazes at the viewer with a gentle tilt of her head. The smooth outlines of her cheeks reveal her youth, but there’s dignity…

When I saw the blood pouring from my right index finger, I wasn’t surprised.  It had been another early morning at the deli where I worked slicing meat on my summers home from college. I’d awoken after a poor night of sleep, stretched, and immediately thought: I’m going to cut myself at work today. It…

“And even though all other animalsLean forward and look down toward the ground,He gave to man a face that is uplifted And ordered him to stand erect and look Directly up into the vaulted heavens And turn his countenance to meet the stars…”                   —Ovid, Metamorphoses I : 118-123 We were made…

Strictly speaking, dance is unnecessary. In a world driven by natural selection, dance doesn’t feed you or clothe you or shelter you. Depending on your skills or lake thereof, it might not even help you attract a mate. You can easily live your entire life without ever dancing. You can go to your friends’ weddings…

I’ll always remember the first day I stepped into Dr. Condict’s classroom. Honey-colored wooden desks were set out in a “U” shape with the teacher’s desk in the center. In the corner stood a large model of the medieval Rota Fortuna, or Wheel of Fortune. But the first thing I noticed was the walls. Almost…