An American traveler planned a long safari to Africa. He was a compulsive man, loaded down with maps, timetables, and agendas. Coolies had been engaged from a local tribe to carry the cumbersome load of supplies, luggage and "essential stuff."On…
Have you heard of the Church of the Exceptional? (A non-denominational, interracial ministry devoted to ministering to the physically and mentally handicapped in the area around Rutherford County, NC.)In 1974, then Governor Jimmy Carter and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale were…
“Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” Maya Angelou reminds us. And I say, Amen.And yet, darkness is still very real. Or maybe, it’s just that some people still don’t trust that the light is there. (Okay, maybe…
In the town of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, there is a church named Lagniappe ("lan-yap"). It is an old Creole word that means “something extra”.Pastor Jean Larroux explains, "Down here if you go into a seafood shop and order a…
One day the Buddha was sitting with his monks. A distraught farmer approached. "Monks, have you seen my cows?"The Buddha said, "No we have not."The farmer continued, "I am distraught. I have only twelve cows, and now they are gone.…
A beggar sits on a box, just outside the gates of a city. The beggar cannot work and subsists on the charity of passersby. On this day, the beggar receives no handouts. Finally, one person stops, but to the disquiet…
“Life itself has no meaning,” Joseph Campbell wrote. “However, each of us has meaning, and we bring it to life.” I like the paradigm shift here: meaning moves from the outside to the inside. It’s just that sometimes, we lose…
The cacophony in our world can be very loud. There is no argument about that.And, if we’re at all insecure about our status (our wellbeing), we are susceptible to (blinded by) public opinion, social media pressure and mob mentality. Bluntly,…
Attending a conference on religion in Japan, Joseph Campbell overheard another American delegate, a social philosopher from New York, say to a Shinto priest, "We've been now to a great many ceremonies and have seen quite a few of your…
A businessman walks the airport concourse, on his way to baggage claim. His flight is late in arriving, and his mood is melancholy. This is the end of a long business trip; his energy spent and his emotions raw. If…
