by David Anderson
I spent last week in a monastery praying with Buddhist monks and nuns. It wasn’t as easy as I thought. Every November I take a week of retreat—almost always to a Benedictine monastery. I love to sit in chapel and hear the monks chant the Psalms, to walk the cloister, to sit in the […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Change, Daily Practice, Prayer/Meditation
One of the lessons we learn as we grow older is to cherish life every day, and not to pin our hopes on a future that never comes. We all believe in the myth of future bliss. Americans especially swear by this one—that with a lot of hard work and sacrifice we’ll one day achieve […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Gratitude, Happiness, Love, Now/ the Present
Tonight I will officiate at my second wedding in a week. I like weddings, but I always struggle with what to say. At baptisms, the parents in the front pews listen even though they’re often tussling with older siblings of the one in white. At funerals, people listen intently. Their stare—both skeptical and desperate—says: […]
by David Anderson 10 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Conflict, Daily Practice, Family, Forgiveness, Happiness, Intimacy, Letting Go, Love, Mercy, Reality--trusting it, Suffering, Surrender
All mankind’s troubles are caused by one single thing, which is their inability to sit quietly in a room. -Blaise Pascal When I leave on vacation later in August, I am leaving my smart phone at home. There should probably be some version of methadone for those who stop doodling with their phones […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Faith/Trust, Letting Go, Listening, Now/ the Present, Patience, Prayer/Meditation, Silence
The stories people tell at funerals. We were burying Christine, a woman who would soon have been ninety. A good friend, Donna, remembered how she complained and whined to Christine about some recent changes in church worship, and after a few weeks of this Christine just said, “Get over it. Move on.” Donna was stunned: […]
by David Anderson 11 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Death/Dying, Faith/Trust, Freedom, Grace, Happiness, Letting Go, Suffering
Last week I heard Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, the writer and scholar of the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah, interviewed on the radio. He told a story that I haven’t forgotten. Rabbi Kushner was invited to a dinner for a class of young people preparing for their bar or bat mitzvah. Classes completed, they had come […]
by David Anderson 9 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Belief, Faith/Trust, Love, Mystery
Why is it so hard to trust yourself? Yesterday we heard the story of the two forlorn disciples on the Emmaus Road—who had a vivid, astonishing experience of the risen Christ, only to lose it the next moment. In Luke’s account, as soon as they recognize Christ, he “vanished from their sight.” That vanishing reminds […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Faith/Trust, Letting Go
(We’ll get to Gobbler’s Knob in a moment.) Today—February 2nd—is a big turning point. It’s a great cross-quarter day, midway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. In ancient, agricultural societies it was regarded as the beginning of spring—the time for first turning the soil in preparation for March planting. There were prayers and […]
by David Anderson 5 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Change, Letting Go, LIght, Surrender