“You all irritate me,” I tell the geese. “Well, truth be told, only sometimes.”“That’s an interesting way to start a homily,” one says, without looking up.“Okay. Maybe it’s not you. It’s me,” I tell them. “Truth be told, I’m churning…
Life stretches us all. Sometimes to the breaking point.Needing a story (with an infusion of hope), my mind gratefully retreats to an unseasonably cool night at Vashon’s Red Bike Restaurant. It is packed with patrons, for a local fundraiser auctioning…
There is a well-known experiment involving a group of ten monkeys, a ladder and bananas suspended from the ceiling. (Yes, this sounds like a joke; only without the Irish priest or the pub.)When the first monkey (headed for the bananas)…
Brené Brown tells the story of meeting a young woman at a media conference. She is excited to meet the woman (an accountant / jeweler) because she had bought a beautiful pair of earrings from the woman's online store."How long…
A young woman with a very serious case of hives went to a specialist for relief. She had suffered for some time, living in continual pain because the hives covered much of her body. She needed healing, and hoped that the…
Standing in line at our local bank, a friend asks, "Do you have any new books or CDs available?"A teller overhears and says, "You sell CDs? I didn't know you sang.""I don't," I tell her, "it frightens young children.""Then what's…
It is in our DNA to be replenished. Nourished and renewed.I am in the refueling business. But that doesn’t mean it is easy to practice what I preach. Here’s what I do know: When I don’t pay attention to my…
"How shall I account for the two, or the ten, missing years on my résumé? How should I explain the gap?" These are questions asked of Dr. Kimberley Patton, by students at Harvard Divinity School, fretful and uneasy in the application…
Some days I don’t feel strong. Days when I don't have the words. But I do know that telling stories is a non-negotiable part of healing. Mr. Rogers stepped out of a Manhattan subway train onto the platform. A group of people…
Did someone go through our world and change the price tags that determine what we value? And what grounds us? It feels that way to me.In conversations and email, I hear two consistent themes; depletion (from overload, distraction and hurry)…
