Today my ashes came from my fireplace. I reached in, ground my thumb into the soot and cross-signed my wife’s forehead, saying the words I’ve said thousands of times but only in church. Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. Then Pam ashed her thumb and imposed that counterintuitive grace upon […]
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The Field Beyond Good and Evil
You’re not a good person, and you’re not a bad person. Those were the first words from the presenter at a conference I was attending on confronting racial bias. When people are asked to look into their own hearts and be honest about unconscious bias, the presenter noted, we all say, “But I’m a good […]
Awake Apnea
We hear a lot about sleep apnea these days, but apnea—the cessation of breath—is happening to nearly all of us, all the time. It’s awake apnea, brief periods during the day when we stop breathing or drop into shallow respiration, barely breathing. I notice breathing much more these days since I was diagnosed a few […]
God’s One-Star Reviews
While doing some advance planning for a summer vacation I came across some Yelp reviews of America’s National Parks. Charge me with an “OK Boomer” offense, but I struggle with the idea of reviewing natural wonders on Yelp. Death Valley “Don’t waste your time!! I paid $20.00 for nothing but nasty rock and salt.” “I […]
Competing for the Worst
“We come home, walk in the door and compete for who had the shittiest day.” It was a holiday dinner party, a few days before Christmas, and everyone was tired of hearing stories of crazed and exhausted people. That’s when Fred spoke up. Immediately we all broke into laughter: it was so true. Of us. […]
The Modest Messiah
What do Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth II have to do with John the Baptist? A lot, but only perhaps if you’re watching “The Crown,” season 3. In one of the earliest conflicts of the new season, we flash back to the abdication of King Edward VIII, upsetting the established line of succession and […]
Happiness Lies…In the Oddest Place
Two things are True. We are here on this earth for joy, for happiness, for deep gladness. And, we can never find a life of joy, happiness and deep gladness unless we find some way to deal with our pain. Pain is a tricky thing, like fire. It can enlighten or burn. But because pain […]
Choosing What We See
In the latest Sandra Bullock movie, Bird Box, a shadowy alien invasion causes mass suicide to sweep the planet. For no apparent reason people suddenly, without warning, leap from a building or step in front of a truck. It is Malorie, played by Bullock, who somehow realizes the cause of it all: the shadowy supernatural […]