by David Anderson
A man is having an enjoyable boat ride on a river. It is dusk. The man looks up to see another boat coming down the river toward him, and his first thought is how nice it is that someone else is out enjoying the river and the beauty of a summer’s evening. Then he realizes […]
by David Anderson 8 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Conflict, Fear, Freedom, Happiness, Reality--trusting it, Surrender
On Monday night I sat in the most exciting, powerful and inspirational circle I’ve experienced in years. I was conversing with convicted felons at Sing Sing prison—homicide, armed robbery, drug dealing. We sat in a classroom, maybe fifteen of us from the “outside” and ten inmates. We had come to learn more about a program […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Change, Community, Freedom
Creativity is kin to spirituality. As a writer and a pastor, I am always intrigued by how the creative process—for any artist—tracks so closely the movement of the Spirit. The key to creativity, I find, also fits the lock and opens the door of the soul. And that key is: limits. Everything about our world […]
by David Anderson 14 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Choice, creativity, Freedom, Happiness, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Surrender
The hardest thing to do is to accept another person as they are. That truth resounded once more this week as I listened to a woman talk about a struggle with her sister. They were often at odds, she said, because their lives were so—blood—similar and yet so completely different. They had different career goals, […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Conflict, Family, Freedom, Letting Go, Love
Sunday afternoon found me visiting the “Senior Living” facility here in town. As these places go, Atria is the Brigadoon. Sunny, pleasant, watercolors dotting the walls. But even so, women (mostly women, of course) sit along the hallways with nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to see. I found my way to the […]
by David Anderson 10 Comments Filed Under: Abundance, Adult Spirituality, Death/Dying, Faith/Trust, Fear, Freedom, Letting Go, Reality--trusting it, Surrender, Uncategorized
I don’t know if it’s true, but someone once told me that domesticated birds can be trained to sit by an open window—and not fly away. You put their perch next to an open window, but you tie one foot to the perch, so that when the bird attempts to fly out the window, it […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Change, Choice, Faith/Trust, Fear, Freedom, Happiness
This week was a rattler. The bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon sent a ripple through our nerves, through our families and communities. I heard from people whose children were there, a block or two from the finish line, heard the explosions, ran for dear life. Walked miles and miles to get […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Faith/Trust, Fear, Forgiveness, Freedom, Grace, Love, Mercy
One of the Buddha’s most famous teachings is the Parable of the Raft. In it he likened his teachings to a raft for crossing a fast-flowing river. A man is trapped on one side of a river. On this side of the river, there is great danger and uncertainty; on the far side is safety. […]
by David Anderson 5 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Belief, Daily Practice, Faith in Action, Freedom, Grace, Happiness, Now/ the Present