Into the "more" with Karen Hoffman
Karen Hoffman’s treasure chest nestled in the Artist Within room at Retreat House Spirituality Center during a recent Morning Altars workshop she led for our community. Karen is a Retreat House partner, board member, writer, retreat leader and program curator for RH. Learn more of her journey below or head over to our online community Circle to listen to our Podcast Tending Space to Bear Spiritual Fruit episode 11 where we catch up with Karen! New to Circle? Send us a note to register.
Karen Hoffman made a pact with her youngest son several years ago - they would not worry. Even in the midst of health challenges, bills and the regular and (sometimes irregular) twists and turns of life, they were committed not to worry.
Instead?
They were going to wonder.
“Songwriter Rebecca Folsom wrote a song called Wonder in 2016 — it’s main question: Why worry when you can wonder?” Karen shares. “For almost eight years now, my son and I have been cultivating a practice of wonder. Phrases like I wonder if the hail will do something to my car feels much better than I’m worried the hail will do something to my car. This replacement phrase has genuinely improved the lens in which I view my life.”
Words carry essence, she says. They matter.
Wondering invites us to see beyond the perceived problem and into the more.
Unfolding journey of wonder
As an interspiritual retreat and workshop leader, Karen didn’t always work in this space. For much of her 30s and 40s, she served as a nursing home administrator during the years her three boys were growing up. Her desire to connect others to resources combined with her compassionate spirit made her a natural fit for this role. However, as her needs began to shift, she recalls a day her heart began to wonder some.
“I had responsibility for 700 seniors at one point. I felt like I was taking home the burdens of 700 grandparents, and I couldn’t let go.”
After taking a breath (or a few) and refocusing, Karen began working for nearby Jewish community Temple Emanu-El in Dallas where she served in various leadership and support capacities for 15 years.
Then the pandemic hit. And she began to get curious again.
“In 2020, I began to notice the loneliness and social pressures people were experiencing,” Karen says. “Right after I turned 60 and soon after the pandemic hit, it was the right time for me to leave Temple. This wasn’t me retiring. This was me re-wiring.”
She had loved all of her roles - wife, mother, daughter, non-profit administrator, and she also realized she had spent hours channeling into others and not herself. This noticing was really the start of her spiritual journey taking on deeper meaning she says. As she began to go inward, she noticed a desire and passion for others to do the same.
Freedom to discover
During her time of re-wiring, Karen gave herself room.
Space. Freedom to discover.
In 2021, she founded Living on Purpose, a cornerstone for connecting others with resources to facilitate personal growth with intention and attention, all through a lens of resilience and gratitude.
“I have developed a passion for inviting and teaching folks to slow down,” Karen says. “Slowing down is so critical to learning to thrive. I have read what our Surgeon General said about loneliness in our country, and I so see the need for sharing in community.”
Through interfaith retreats and workshops, occasional 1:1 sessions and Words that Matter - a series of card decks encouraging positive affirmations for various life seasons as well as her newest tool in her toolkit Morning Altars, Karen creates room and space for those she companions to discover the wonder, the true Self and the Divine within so that they might have a deeper understanding of the beauty available to them in this thing we all call life!
Karen hosting a Morning Altars workshop at Retreat House. This healing modality is a 7-step practice and invitation to nourish your spirit through nature, art and ritual.
Wander and Wonder
In today’s overly virtual landscape, what if art could awaken our imagination, our awe, our nuanced eye and love of the mystery of our earth. What if we approached our day with wonder instead of worry?
Retreat House friend and partner Karen Hoffman is doing just this through her regular practice of Morning Altars* a 7- step invitation to go outside and meet with God.
*Accompanying photo to the left: Altar created by RH Partner Wendy Hebicht during Karen’s workshop at Retreat House.
This article was written by Emily Turner Watson. She is a trained spiritual director and writer.