Thought

Yesterday was Veterans Day, and I shared a photo of my Dad on social media. It’s one of my favorite images of him — in army fatigues, in Belgium during the Second World War, collecting a big handful of wildflowers.…

Do you remember that old children’s song? “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I don’t know why she swallowed a fly. I guess she’ll die.” The basic supposition — that this unfortunate ingestion will be fatal —…

My usual orientation to life is a big, juicy “Yes!” And most of the time, that’s my real preference. It’s an honest and soulful expression for me. There’s a lot of good in it, a lot to like. “Yes” feels…

I’ve always liked the Zen parable that says, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” Spiritual transformation changes everything. And… the work remains. We still have daily tasks and sometimes drudgery. Life can be darned…

A couple of weeks ago, shortly after the death of great writer and nature lover Wendell Berry, The Atlantic published a sweet piece by Joe Fassler, entitled “Why Wendell Berry Didn’t Worry About the Future.” The article's writer explores a…

You know me, I’m a planner. I order, organize, and schedule everything I possibly can. If it isn’t nailed down, I’ll nail it down, doggone it. If I encounter anything up in the air, I won’t relax until it’s on…

“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” — E.M. Forster The term “willy-nilly” means things happening in a disorderly or disorganized way, without…

A lawn sign appeared a few years ago, becoming a popular meme across the internet:  Chinese characters with the quaint English transcription — “Do Not Disturb: Tiny Grass is Dreaming.”  I don’t know if the translation is really accurate.  I read…

For a few years, I’ve been seeing more and more references to the Dunning-Kruger Effect, usually in articles about how we relate to facts and information in this political climate, in our age of media overload.  Though I had a…

I’m in rehearsals again, for a beautiful musical called Come From Away. It’s a story of kindness, generosity, and radical hospitality, based on real events. On September 11, 2001, after hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center and the…