wholehearted: making space for wonder and delight

During a noon-hour rush on a steamy July day, two men were jockeying their way through the crowd on a New York City avenue. They practically shouted as they tried to hear one other above the din. One man, a…

While a young mother waits at a post-office-counter, her four-year-old daughter occupies herself with the opportunity for self-entertainment, exploring the lobby, looking, prattling, not an item left untouched.The girl finds a penny on the floor. "Look momma," she says proudly,…

A farmer once came to see the Buddha, to seek advice, to get help with his problems. The farmer had many problems, and he told the Buddha, in great detail, all about how they made his life very difficult.The weather…

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,…

In his book Too Small to Ignore, Wess Stafford (President of Compassion) tells a story from his childhood on the Ivory Coast of Africa. About a village visited by a convoy of French colonial officials for a government survey. Their…

On my walk yesterday, the usual mental litany clattering for attention. Pondering Sabbath Moment topics, unpacking news headlines, wondering about my procrastination with a book project (accompanied by a generous dose of grief).And only one goose at the pond. Very…

My friend Tim Hansel wrote a book on parenting. He asked his young sons, "Boys, how do you know Dad loves you?"He figured that they would say, "Daaaad, remember when you took us to Disneyland, like for 10 days!" They…