The reset button, and mercy
It could be the heat. Some records have been broken here in the PNW. For whatever reason, my emotional equilibrium is unsettled or off kilter. You know the feeling? And there’s no doubt that I probably work too hard to…
Holy Sparks
In the beginning there was only the holy darkness. In Jewish Kabbalah teaching it is called the Ein Sof, or the source of life. And then, at a moment in time, this world, the world of a thousand, thousand things,…
Make a difference
I am the son of a brick mason. I am the eldest of five children. Which means that my summer options, as a schoolboy, were limited. I could be a hod carrier (mixing mortar—called “mud”—hauling bricks, blocks or stone and…
Live simply. Simply live.
A monk once came to Joshu (Chinese Zen Master) at breakfast time and said, "I have just entered this monastery to learn about God. Please teach me." "Have you eaten your porridge yet," asked Joshu. "Yes, I have," replied the monk. "Then you had…
Real superheroes
Some stories are too raw. We read them, but cannot wrap our mental arms around them. Even so, they speak truth and shine a light, a reminder that even in the darkest times, there are stories about ordinary people and…
Gratitude, a conspiracy with life
I’m on my patio. There is a slight lifting of the air so I can smell the earth and the roses nearby, and I take possession of my life here. (A shout out to May Sarton.) And yet. I confess to…
When our spirit sags
“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…
A song that saves people
In the movie Walk the Line, Johnny Cash auditions for Sam Phillips. He is hoping for a record deal. He is playing an uninspired and insipid version of a gospel hymn. And Phillips tells him no. When Cash demands a reason, Phillips says, "Because I don't believe you."…
Reconnect with our heart
This is a story about what can happen when we are not at home in our own skin. This is a story about reconnecting with our heart. And the choices we can make that spill to those around us. Carlton Pearson is…
The art of making fire
A long time ago, there was a man who invented the art of making fire. He took his tools and visited a tribe in the north, where the climate was bitter cold. The man taught the people how to make fire. And the…
