Two brothers, living on adjoining farms, fell into conflict. In forty years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, providing mutual support and assistance whenever needed, it is their first rift. But it doesn’t take much, does it? A conflict that begins with a small misunderstanding can grow into a major fracture. Weeks (spilling into [...]
Mr. Rogers stepped out of a Manhattan subway train onto the platform. A group of people recognized him, including a young mother with her 6-year-old son. The boy brandished a Star Wars light saber, and was intent on whacking everything–and everyone–in his path. This included Mr. Rogers. The mother stood mortified, “Honey, please don’t hit [...]
In September, New Yorker magazine featured an article by Johnathan Safran Foer (who wrote a novel about a boy who lost his father in the twin towers tragedy) talking about the tragedy of 9/11. “Is there anyone who hasn’t played out the nightmare of having been trapped in one of the towers? Is there anyone [...]
In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the human spirit. –Albert Schweitzer
Each of us desires relationships that are healthy–with trust, compassion, laughter, honesty and touch. There’s only one problem… Each of us moves away from the very things we desire. If only we could find that one person who could make it all okay… Here’s the deal: Intimacy has little to do with the other person. [...]
The first grade class assignment: to name the seven wonders of the world. Each student compiles a list, and shares their list, aloud, with the class. There is ardent interaction as the students call out entries from their lists: the Pyramids, the Empire State Building, the Amazon River, Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, the [...]
My friend–a pastor in Seattle–told me the story about a remarkable woman in his church. She was licensed by the state to be a foster-care home for children with special needs. This requires fortitude and resilience, not knowing how long the children will be with you (maybe days or perhaps weeks), or how many children [...]
> On my garden path, February 2010 This Life Perhaps it will be on your walk to the mail box on a grey morning when the sky is a tarp, synched down at the corners. Or perhaps savoring your first sip of coffee as you look out into the forest at the weeping boughs of [...]
