Stories and Gratitude
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…
Let us taste this life
Early this morning I drove from Gardnerville, NV through the Carson Valley to the Reno Airport. The drive framed by the Sierra Nevada Mountains, including the snow laden peaks that cradle Lake Tahoe. There is no urgency and it is…
A weight is lifted
I love the uplifting story Sue Monk Kidd tells about her grandfather. My grandfather was a lawyer, a judge, and a farmer. He was frequently busy and conquesting, but I remember also that he sometimes entered the golden moments of wu wei. He and I…
No restrictor plate in our soul
Going through his five-year-old son's backpack, a father found a picture of a little boy standing under a rainbow crying. His first thought was, "Oh God, my son is having some serious problems." When he asked his son about the picture, the little boy told his father that he had been playing…
Don’t forget the flowers
Glenn Adsit and his family spent years as missionaries in China. During the Communist regime change, they were under house arrest. One day a few Chinese soldiers came to their house, and said, "You can return to America." The Adsit's were celebrating, when the soldiers told them, "You…
Give me the diamond!
The sannyasi (a Hindu holy man) had reached the outskirts of the village and settled down under a tree for the night when a villager came running up to him and said, "The stone! The stone! Give me the precious stone!" "What stone?" asked the sannyasi. "Last night the Lord Shiva appeared to…
Already inside of you
As Alexander the Great was passing through Corinth, he sought out the famous philosopher Diogenes, and found him sitting under a tree, dressed in rags, with not a drachma to his name. When the most powerful man in the world…
Conga drum and grace
The year is 1953. Eleven-year-old Mike is diligent about his paper route, setting aside money to buy the desire of his heart. His parents tell him that he can spend the money he earns on what ever he wants (as long as it isn't illegal or immoral). Mike saves…
Fear is not the final word
Jacob, almost 70, finds himself in the mid-stages of Alzheimer's. For over 20 years a clinical psychologist and mediator, Jacob is now acutely aware that his faculties are deteriorating. On occasion his mind and recall are totally blank. At times he…
May The Force be with you
It is Christmas. Which means that The Force Awakens is here. (For non-Star Wars fans, or anyone who has not been in the vicinity of any media for the past few months, this is the much-anticipated Episode VII.) Is it fair to say…
