A Different Kind of Senate Campaign in Michigan Abdul El-Sayed’s nomination for the U.S. Senate in Michigan has become about more than the usual differences between two political candidates. El-Sayed, a physician, epidemiologist, former Detroit health director, and Muslim American of Egyptian heritage, is running against Republican Mike Rogers. His nomination placed his religion, heritage,
When a Name Becomes a Political Weapon Read More »
The Mistake of Expecting Yourself From Other People One of the most expensive lessons I have learned in life was believing that other people had a heart like mine. For years, I moved through life thinking that if I showed up for somebody, they would naturally show up for me. If I protected them, I
When a Good Heart Learns to Keep Its Eyes Open Read More »
When Desire Starts Making the Decisions There comes a time in life when we have to ask ourselves whether we are controlling our desires or whether our desires are controlling us. Sexual attraction is a natural part of being human, and there is nothing wrong with feeling attracted to somebody. The trouble begins when desire
The Higher Standard Is Self-Mastery Read More »
When Economic Policy Reaches the Kitchen Table For most Americans, the economy is not something we experience through charts, stock reports, or speeches coming out of Washington. It becomes real when we sit at the kitchen table, spread out the bills, and realize the money coming in does not stretch as far as it used
The American Kitchen Table: When the Economy Becomes Personal Read More »
When Knowing Something Is Not Enough There is nothing wrong with knowing something that other people in a conversation may not know. In fact, knowledge becomes more valuable when we are willing to share what we have learned with others. The problem begins when showing what we know becomes more important than the conversation itself.
Learning When and How to Share What You Know Read More »
When Another Tragedy Appears on the Screen There may come a time when something terrible appears on your phone and, instead of stopping to take it in, you simply scroll past it. It may be another death, another war, another family torn apart, or another injustice that would have once stayed on your mind for
When the Heart Becomes Too Full to Feel Read More »
A Different Way of Looking at Our Beginning There is an old spiritual idea that asks us to consider something we may never have thought about before. What if our lives did not begin completely by accident? What if, before we were born, our souls somehow had a part in choosing the circumstances that would
What If Your Soul Chose Your Mother? Read More »
What the Hardest Seasons Teach Us When you go through one of the toughest seasons of your life and feel like you are facing it alone, something inside you begins to change. Hard times can teach you things that easier days never could. You discover how much pain you can carry without allowing it to
When You Learn You Can Stand on Your Own Read More »
A Few Minutes After Midnight A few minutes after midnight on June 12, 1963, Medgar Wiley Evers pulled into the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. He had spent another long day doing civil rights work in a state where demanding simple fairness could get a Black man killed. Only hours earlier, President John
June 12, 1963: Medgar Evers and the Long Road to Justice Read More »
Rethinking the Inner Child We often hear people say that we have to heal our inner child before we can become emotionally whole. There is truth in that idea, especially when childhood included hurt, neglect, fear, rejection, or experiences we were too young to understand. But I believe there may be another way to look
The Inner Child May Not Be the Part That Needs Healing Read More »