Reflections on relationships and spirituality from a philosopher and a madwoman.
By Holly Mohr and Theresa Weiler
brood
/bro͞od/
noun
- a family of young animals, especially of a bird, produced at one hatching or birth. “a brood of chicks”
- Similar: offspring, young, progeny, spawn, family, hatch, clutch, nest, litter, progeniture
verb
- to think deeply about something that makes one unhappy.”he brooded over his need to find a wife”
- Similar: worry about, fret about, agonize over, mope over, moon over, languish over, feel despondent about, grieve over, sulk about, eat one’s heart out over, think about, ponder, contemplate, pore over, meditate on, muse on, mull over, dwell on, ruminate on/over, chew over, puzzle over, weigh up, turn over in one’s mind
adjective
- (of an animal) kept to be used for breeding. “a brood mare”
The Brood is where we talk about family, relationships, identity, and spirituality as only a couple of Sick Pilgrims can.
Holly and Theresa are haunted by the Church, hounded by the Divine, and harried by the expectations projected onto them and their fellow woman-creatures.
In our column, we will be brooding about all that, among other dark ruminations on parenting, friendship, mental health, marriage, sex, and society…and we’re going to have fun doing it.
Because you know what? Brooding can be generative.
Developmentalists are saying now that the capacity to face negative emotions can actually lead to positive, growth-enhancing behaviors. Which is good for us, because brooding is part of our DNA as daughters of our dysfunctional Mother Church.
I mean, what are the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary but an opportunity for a well-structured twenty-minute brood, complete with nifty beaded accessories?
Brooding is part of a cycle of life, death and rebirth. Catholic tradition assigns whole seasons of the year to brooding over the passion, the suffering, the brutal death of Love itself, only to be like, “Surprise, kids! Love wins. We can stare down death and destruction from here to the final resurrection, because love is fucking stronger.”
We brood because we love.
Let’s be honest: We want to make space for you, and we want to make space for us. Questions, doubts, exhaustion, exasperation . . . it’s all welcome here. We will think about our own ambivalent relationships to spirituality, and we will take a look at the relationships that shape us, even as we shape them.
We can’t promise an easy yoke or a light burden, but we can strive to be a space where some of those burdens are seen and spoken to. And we can work on how to make those yokes a little more unitive and life-giving, even as they remain hella heavy.
More than that, we are two real sweethearts who hope to be a fun weekly hang for anyone who happens upon our little column. We will likely philosophize, occasionally rhapsodize. You can count on some oversharing with a side of barnyard language. We’re gonna lay it out.
We commit to bringing authenticity, vulnerability, and hopefully a little joy.
Join us weekly at The Brood.
Sick Pilgrim 