by David Anderson
I’m not used to thinking where I will be in 100 years, but that’s what I was doing a few days ago. A friend sent this reel by someone I’d never heard of. It’s about what happens to you and everything you own in 100 years. Take a look (it’s just over a minute). I […]
by David Anderson 12 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Death/Dying, Letting Go, Now/ the Present
Genesis 7: 11-24 “They went into the ark with Noah, two and twoof all flesh…and God shut him in.” On Noah’s ark there was no rudder. God gave Noah incredibly detailed instructions for constructing this floating zoo, dimensions of roofs and decks, but no steering mechanism. Have you ever noticed this? Noah doesn’t need to […]
by David Anderson 14 Comments Filed Under: Advent, Belief, Discernment, Faith in Action, Faith/Trust, Letting Go, Surrender
Once a few Decembers ago we were planning a holiday party and I decided it would perfect to light the weeping cherry tree in the front yard. The week of the party I left the office at one o’clock. I needed to deck these boughs while the light held, and I figured I needed at […]
by David Anderson 10 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Awe, Beauty, Discernment, Faith/Trust, Hope, Letting Go, LIght, Seeing
“How happy are you?” Happiness studies are all the rage these days, and happiness books abound. The most popular courses at Ivy league colleges are devoted to happiness and what it takes to get it. The tricky thing is, happiness surveys are self-reporting. People respond to questions like: I am pleased with the way I […]
by David Anderson 13 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, authority, Awareness, Blessing, Change, Daily Practice, Happiness, Letting Go
My definition of a saint, a spiritual giant, is someone who makes other people holy, just by their presence. Someone who engenders peace in other people’s hearts, who calls forth beauty and goodness and faithfulness in other people’s lives. Nurturing your own holiness, your own peace, calling forth your own beauty and goodness and faithfulness […]
by David Anderson 15 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Awe, Blessing, Community, Death/Dying, Faith/Trust, Grace, Letting Go, Surrender, Transformation
in every breathif you’re the centerof your own desiresyou’ll lose the graceof your beloved but if in every breathyou blow awayyour self claimthe ecstasy of lovewill soon arrive in every breathif you’re the centerof your own thoughtsthe sadness of autumnwill fall on you but if in every breathyou strip nakedjust like a winterthe joy of […]
by David Anderson 10 Comments Filed Under: Awe, Daily Practice, Fear, Freedom, Grace, Happiness, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Surrender
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