Hello, Friends,
I’m delighted to join the talented folks here at KarmaCompass, at the invitation of Edissa Nicolas-Huntsman. I met Edissa many years ago when I was pastor of a United Methodist congregation in downtown Oakland, California. I retired from active ministry in 2014, and since then, I’ve had a number of “adventures” which involved travel… well, until the last year.
I’m a poet and writer as well as a preacher, and I also try my hand at photography, using my trusty iPhone. I’ll share some of my photos with you here, as well as reflections on spirituality and personal growth.
During the past year of sheltering in place, my husband and I get up early to enjoy the morning’s quiet and the lightening day, share a time of talk and tea, and then take a walk, up hills and down, in a cemetery near our home. We’ve gotten to know more of our neighbors this past year than we had in the 15 years before, and we’ve also gotten acquainted with the names and dates of the dead whose presences grace that beautiful place in the city.
Around Valentine’s Day this year, as we walked among the graves, I saw this Love Letter hanging on a flowering plum tree. Enjoy!
Mary Elyn Bahlert
Karma Compass 
Welcome, Mary Elyn. Thank you for these sweet love letters to our community. We need your wisdom, your voice and your character now more than ever. There’s so much to heal right now, and with you on our team, the work will be light and joyful. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us!
Edissa