by David Anderson
In the last year or so I’ve been listening to scores of podcasts and as many books on Audible. Any time in the car, even twenty minutes to the grocery, I’m listening to Tolkien or Wendell Berry or a history of Mexico, ahead of our fall trip there. Washing dishes and cleaning up the house […]
by David Anderson 16 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Beauty, Daily Practice, Happiness, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Silence
Did you open the fridge this morning? She asks.No, I reply.Well, then it was sort of open all night.What!I put that pan of peaches on the bottom shelf, she says, because they’re about to go bad—and…But you can see [Here I demonstrate] the door doesn’t close.Yes, but [Here she elbows me out of the way] […]
by David Anderson 15 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Breathing, Choice, Daily Practice, Happiness, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Prayer/Meditation
I remember the day Pam got off the train, from her increasingly miserable daily commute into New York City, and said, “I am done with this.” We had two little girls and I wasn’t earning much in my first job out of seminary. She made more than I did. How were we going to survive? […]
by David Anderson 15 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Change, Choice, Discernment, Grace, Happiness, Letting Go, Reality--trusting it, Surrender
Our grandchildren, ages eight and four, are with us for a week. All day every day. By about day four an adult reaches a saturation point and becomes, in some sense, a child too. After days and nights participating in play, story, physical and imaginative games, make-believe, general silliness, and the deep need for security […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awareness, Awe, Change, Faith/Trust, Family, Grace, Happiness, Healing, Love, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Surrender, Transformation
Of all the rites of spring, commencement exercises are among the best. I have an aisle seat for this glorious graduation ceremony, joining hundreds of families and friends, kids dressed too well for their comfort, flower bouquets ready for joyous presentation. The music swells and the procession begins. Banners emblazoned with heraldic symbols and Latin […]
by David Anderson 9 Comments Filed Under: Daily Practice, Happiness
The headlines these days are splashed with scary stories of AI and the end of reality. Soon, the experts warn, no one will be able to tell what images or videos are real and what is generated by an all-knowing machine. The AI threat is merely the latest, most intense form of unreality to wash […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Daily Practice, Happiness, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it
Nobel winning psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman tells this story. A man is listening to a symphony, and it’s glorious. Three movements that build toward a brilliant climax. And then, just as the symphony is ending there is a horrid screeching sound. “It ruined the whole thing,” the man says. “Wiped out the whole experience.” […]
by David Anderson 8 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Daily Practice, Happiness, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Prayer/Meditation, Reality--trusting it
Some years ago, the Dove soap company created a video. At the time, a woman sent me the link because it seemed a profound demonstration of self-judgment. The video shows a forensic sketch artist, asked to draw a series of women based solely on their descriptions. Seated at a drafting table with his back to […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Happiness, Identity, Lent, Letting Go, Seeing