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…
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…
“I hate people. I hate life. I hate the world.” Lucy is apoplectic. “I thought you had inner peace,” Charlie Brown says to her. “I do,” Lucy responds. “But I have a lot of outer obnoxiousness.” Speaking of life’s…
Do you have any relatives that make you wonder about the gene pool in your family tree? Well, Uncle George was exasperating and difficult. Looking after him was stressful, taxing and thankless. Driving to the funeral of Uncle George, the young man let loose with…
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…
GK Chesterton tells the story of a teenage boy granted one wish by a genie. “Do you wish to be huge or tiny?” We are all swayed by the appeal of being big, strong and powerful. So, the boy chose…
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 native New…
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…
A small art gallery near Lake Galway in Ireland holds an exhibition with local art. A poet of no small renown drops by to view it. As he finishes his perusing, a local farmer arrives. Once a year, the farmer…
In 1819, a blind soldier named James Holman, was invalided out of the British Navy. His reaction? He promptly set out to "see" the world. He traveled alone, except for one brief stint with a deaf man. James spoke none of the languages he encountered, and moved about by public transit. When he…
It is easy to lose a sense of self in a world of hurry and distraction and anxiety. Have you ever felt overwhelmed, only to add one more thing to your to-do list? Have you ever wished for an extra…