There is an apocryphal story, peculiarly American but also universally human, that during the US Civil War, a water source called Spangler’s Spring at the Gettysburg, PA battlefield served as a neutral site where soldiers from either side of the conflict met and talked to each other. Whether this actually happened or not is a … Continue reading
Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams. Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Three days after Donald Trump won the election, there was an outpouring of love encircling him. It came from a surprising source: a women’s prison. Yes indeed. Please read on for a seasonal story that … Continue reading
This past week, a remarkable thing happened in the City of Brotherly and Sisterly Love. Supporters of Trump, Clinton, and a handful of disappointed Bernie people came together and explored how they and the rest of the country might begin to heal our fractured electorate and move forward toward a prosperous and peaceful future. Together. … Continue reading
My friend Tanya is one of the humans I admire most, in part because of her unflappable, generous, open-hearted disposition. She told me a few days ago that she is undone by this election cycle. One night she found her peaceful self shouting at the TV in anger, went to bed upset, and woke up … Continue reading
I recently spent three days in silence, in the woods, reconnecting with my center. It’s been a hard Autumn…lots of tangible suffering around me, around all of us, really. There’s no need to recount the personal and collective sorrows of the last few months; the news alone suffices as a litany of suffering and woe. … Continue reading
About 25 years ago, I thoughtlessly made a petty, judgmental comment about an acquaintance. What I didn’t know but quickly realized is that this lovely man, John, was two feet away from me and heard every word. I responded in the dysfunctional human way: defensive, embarrassed, regretful. He responded in the deeply human compassionate way: … Continue reading
In the midst of the Ebola fearfulness filling the news in recent months, an odd thought has been floating through my brain: What if we were as aware of the contagion of love as we are of other forms of infection, and in the spirit of love casting out fear, expended maximum effort in creating … Continue reading
