by David Hayward | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog
I strut through the field under the moon as if I own the place. Because I do! The world is mine. All things are mine. Black sheep. That’s me. I was always different. And I always knew it. But I had a remarkable skill of being able to blend in. I knew how to conform. I...
by David Hayward | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog
I didn’t want to come out. I felt safer in the tangled forest of my approved life. There I could hide in the shadows. In fact, I was a shadow of what I was to become. I would be hidden in all the distractions that made themselves available to me. I was an expert in...
by David Hayward | Jan 25, 2015 | David's Letters, I'm okay
I compare our journeys of leaving the church, or changing our minds, or deconstructing our faith, to taking a canoe down a river. Sometimes there are very smooth times when you hardly even have to paddle. All you have to do is keep your paddle in the water and make...
by David Hayward | Jan 23, 2015 | Blog
Are you wondering what the meaning of life is? Or what your purpose in life is that would give it meaning to you? Do you think, or assume, that it’s a question that no one has the answer to yet? Or that its answer is currently beyond your grasp? Do you think the...
by David Hayward | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog
Hollow. That’s a season. A season that comes and goes. When you break free you lose things. Captivity comes with benefits. You will miss them. You will want to go back.But don’t! Don’t be the one who wants to return to the security of the familiar cell. You will be...
by David Hayward | Jan 19, 2015 | Blog
From the moment I was aware of my imprisonment I knew I had a choice: I could become hard-hearted or I could be vulnerable. I could harden myself in an attempt to avoid further suffering. Or I could remain vulnerable and enjoy life. So many vulnerable creatures become...
by David Hayward | Jan 18, 2015 | David's Letters, I'm okay
Hi guys! Today I spoke at the Unitarian Universalist Church in town. There was a small group there… about 20 people. I gave a slide show presentation on “Questions are the Answer: Questions as Tools for Personal Growth”. It’s the topic of my book that I’m working on...
by David Hayward | Jan 16, 2015 | Blog
You will feel exposed. As I was. And still am. Because this is how I choose to live. When I made my escape it was like ripping myself free from all constraints. I left all my clothes behind, my given layers of protection. It left me naked and exposed. Exposed to the...
by David Hayward | Jan 14, 2015 | Blog
I looked back. And I didn’t turn into a pillar of salt. I looked back. When I escaped and I knew I had, I stopped in my tracks. It was a night just like this. The moon was full. The stars were bright. The night was cold. But I was free! I hadn’t felt this feeling in a...
by David Hayward | Jan 12, 2015 | Blog
You just have to jump! Sometimes, like Kierkegaard wrote, you just have to make the leap! I took the existential dare. What a crazy image this is! Look at me jumping from a great height with only a rope in my hand. How far I must fall! I saw how far it was, and I...
by David Hayward | Jan 11, 2015 | David's Letters, I'm sad
I’ve been very busy working on my book. I’m also suffering from a terrible coughing cold this weekend. I’ve been trying to write a weekly letter to you, but nothing is working right now. So I hope that this gift to you will suffice for now. (I will...
by David Hayward | Jan 9, 2015 | Blog
All it takes is one small opening, and one small opportunity. Just underneath the straw in my cell I found a hatch door. My means of escape was always available to me. I just hadn’t seen it yet. My captors are busy playing their games, planning their next move,...
by David Hayward | Jan 7, 2015 | Blog
I am beautiful. I am free. I am wise. I am Sophia. How did I get here? How did I come to this? Why am I in these chains? Why am I locked in a dark cellar surrounded by things that degrade and dehumanise me? Especially words. Words that are meant to shame, subdue and...
by David Hayward | Jan 2, 2015 | David's Letters, I'm okay
Happy New Year my friends. I’m going to try to keep this letter a short one. I’m still recovering from the holidays. All three of our children were home and all we did was eat, drink, smoke, listen to music, make music, talk, watch movies, and caught a few...
by David Hayward | Dec 22, 2014 | David's Letters, I'm confused
This letter contains an important message about being yourself. I’m eating Lisa’s homemade granola and listening to the “Deep Dark Indie” playlist on Shopify. I’m rejoicing that all my kids are going to be home this Christmas starting...
by David Hayward | Dec 14, 2014 | David's Letters, I'm okay
I’m looking out over the river I live on. It’s called the Kennebacasis. It comes from the Mi’kmaq word meaning “little long bay place”. It’s a 95 kilometers long tidal river, beautiful and wide and running deep. It is full of living...
