Teaching Moments

“Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man.”—Swami Vivekananda
What do our words and actions teach others? What do we learn by observing the words and actions of others?
You don’t have to be a “teacher” in order to educate someone. You do it by being who you are, indelibly shaped by your experiences and guided [...]

First Snow

October is a strange month. You can have bright blue days of seventy degrees and sunshine and nights scented with dry leaves and the neighbors’ woodsmoke. Then, not less than a week later, you can be getting snow.

Yesterday, we got our first snowfall of the season, although I’m not sure purists would call it “snowfall” [...]

Holding Up the Stars

In every aspect of life, from business to art, there are people at the top, and there are people at the bottom, with countless others in between.
We hear a lot about reaching our full potential, and we try to do this. But just as one person’s fingerprint is unique, their potential is, too. We have [...]

“Pain” is a Four-Letter Word

I thought I was done with “four-letter words”. But …
Emotional and physical pain are part of being human. Not that we should expect them, but they do occur, and no one is exempt.
Western medicine has developed a vast array of drugs to combat pain, both psychological and physical. Even so, it’s the elephant in the [...]

Courage Comes in Many Guises

Yesterday, I went bowling with a group from my church. Now, I make absolutely no claims to greatness. In fact, when asked if I was interested, I think I only said that I did bowl, not that I bowled well.
I lived up to my own reputation for ungreatness. I finished my first game with a [...]

Mind Over Matters

I know, that title looks like a misprint. Should be “Mind over matter”, right?
Not really. As a healer, I am being reminded time and again that, while the physical aspects of what I do are important–pain relief, improvements in sleep, relaxation–there’s a huge component that is “behind the scenes”.
The mind-body connection is no news to [...]

Psalm 8: “What is Man”

Some of the most powerful writing is expressed in the fewest words, and Psalm 8 is no exception. The last time I wrote about one of the psalms was in February 2007. I’ve been prompted to take up that thread again, in no particular order. The psalm appears in quotes, my commentary in parentheses.
“Oh Lord [...]

“Hope” is a Four-Letter Word

Having spent several days writing this “four-letter word” series, it struck me that there were a lot of negative emotions that got touched on.
How fitting, then, to end with hope.
Hope is what we search for when we feel like our own life circumstances, whether physical or emotional, are going to overwhelm us. Whether it’s the [...]

“Envy” is a Four-Letter Word

Where did the expression “green with envy” come from?
I have no idea, but it’s a good one. Envy has a way of coloring our whole outlook on life. Instead of seeing clearly what we have and trusting that we have enough in every moment, we become fixated on the idea that someone else has it [...]

“Rage” is a Four-Letter Word

Rage is anger raised to a whole different order of magnitude. It’s what happens when anger gets out of control. You never hear about “road anger”—you hear about “road rage”. “Angry bull” doesn’t sound right—but “raging bull” does. We don’t “fly into being mad”—we “fly into a rage”.
Even if we can’t pinpoint the specific thing [...]