The other day I stood in the crisp air of early morning, in the freshness of the dawning light, and knew without question the ecstatic and complex glory of my very simple life, at least for a few minutes. The day was bursting forward without temerity or hesitancy. The sky surrounding me held an eternity [...]
Another new year. So how are you feeling? Yay or nay? Another new year and I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. Although, as Dolly Parton says so eloquently in the movie “Steel Magnolias” after Shelby’s funeral, “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.” I think that sums up my strategy this past year. [...]
How many think we can use more Golden Rule days? Raise your hands. Did you know there is a Golden Rule Day and it's April 5th? It’s a day to focus on and embody the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would like to have done unto you.” It’s a good rule and [...]
Don't be distracted my friends. Take a deep breath and remember your inherent goodness. I have seen many on social media envisioning 2021 would be better than 2020, and maybe this is a sign of a final breath. It’s not a final breath. This is a blatant, extremely excellent, horrific demonstration of white privilege. What [...]
Recently a friend and I were talking about what life was like when we first got into 12-step recovery, and what we needed in order to break the bonds of addiction. I rarely talk about the beginning because frankly most of it is a blur, and it was a few decades ago! All I wanted [...]
About 600 years before the writers of the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke penned Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed, Buddha told a parable of a mustard seed. It revolves around a woman, Kisa Gotami, who lived during the time of Buddha. Kisa’s only child had died, and unwilling to accept his death, she [...]
It’s been a strange year, which sounds woefully inadequate. Somedays it appears the world has gone mad. Not my first time thinking this or even saying it. Hell, almost everyone I know is saying the same thing. I’ve been watching the last couple years of f***ed up leadership in this country - watching people [...]
I have a friend that I have known well for about 23 years, she’s also a recovering addict. She has been a sister, friend, sponsee and confidant. I have always maintained that the most challenging people in our lives are our master teachers – I guess you could also say she has been a master [...]
I recently spent a month in South Carolina helping my mom with her recovery from knee replacement surgery. When it came time for me to return home, I had mixed feelings. I knew I couldn't stay there, eventually everyone needs to return home, but I didn’t know what I was coming home to. I wasn’t [...]
My own spiritual discipline has been to challenge myself each year with an expanded understanding of the traditionalholidays, while maintaining a sense of reverence, even sentimentality to a small degree. One of the great paradoxes of navigating the landscape of religious holidays, ceremonies and traditions is dancing with reverence AND relevance at the same time. [...]
