by David Anderson
You know that holiday music staple, taken from Jerry Herman’s Broadway musical Mame. In the show, the song comes just after Mame has lost her fortune in the great Wall Street crash of 1929. Mame decides that she, her little nephew Patrick and the two household servants need some cheering up. For we need a […]
by David Anderson 1 Comment Filed Under: Grace, Happiness, Love, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it
When I was young I loved to watch Let’s Make a Deal. You know how this game show works. Monty Hall chooses someone from the audience and you’re given some entry-level prize, a TV or a wad of cash. But then Monty offers you the opportunity to trade for another prize—for what’s behind door number […]
by David Anderson 5 Comments Filed Under: Abundance, Gratitude, Happiness, Money, Reality--trusting it, Seeing
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
A legend says that, at the beginning of time, God resolved to hide himself within his own creation. As God was considering how best to do this, the angels drew around him. “I want to hide myself in my own creation,” God said. “I need to find a place that is not too easily discovered, […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Happiness, Now/ the Present, Seeing
Watching Felix Baumgartner’s jump from 24 miles up at the edge of space I’m reminded of how basic is that fear of falling. As I watched the video I had two, opposite reactions. What must it be like to leap from such magisterial heights? (What is it that makes us back away from precarious heights […]
by David Anderson 1 Comment Filed Under: Faith/Trust, Fear, Freedom, Happiness, Letting Go, Love, Reality--trusting it
I read this week that a typical small child smiles six hundred times a day, and old men smile two and a half times a day. That tells you all you need to know about the course of human life. As we get older, we get more “serious.” I put that in quotes, because mostly […]
by David Anderson 2 Comments Filed Under: Faith/Trust, Fear, Grace, Happiness, Letting Go
I had breakfast yesterday morning with a friend from seminary. She was telling me about a leadership conference that she had recently hosted. Pastors of thriving congregations had come to speak, but for her one stood out. It was a man we both knew and admired. “Gary told us about a failure,” she said. “All […]
by David Anderson 2 Comments Filed Under: Fear, Grace, Happiness, Letting Go, Mercy
“The whole fall, back-to-school just hit me like a truck.” That’s the way a mother described the first days of September as we talked last night. Me too. It all comes on so fast. Summer seems to start gradually, as things wind slowly down. But it always ends with a bang. A gun goes off. […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Choice, Daily Practice, Fear, Freedom, Happiness, Letting Go