The Question Behind the Question One spiritual question has stayed with me because it sounds simple but carries a lot underneath it. “If I am the source, why don’t I feel like it?” I understand why somebody would ask that. We often imagine spiritual awareness should come with a certain feeling. We expect confidence, peace,
The Sentence That Comes After the Mistake There is a sentence I have probably said more times than I care to admit: “Well, I already blew it.” I may say it after eating something I promised myself I would avoid. I may say it after spending money that was not in my budget. I may
“I Already Blew It”: How One Mistake Becomes an Excuse to Give Up Read More »
The Difference Between Loneliness and Solitude There is a difference between being alone and feeling lonely, and I think understanding that difference becomes increasingly important as we move through life. Two people can spend an evening alone in nearly identical circumstances and experience that time completely differently. One person may feel peaceful, free, and comfortable.
Loneliness and Solitude: Being Alone Is Not the Same as Feeling Alone Read More »
Reality Does Not Explain Itself The older I become, the more I recognize that an event and my interpretation of that event are not always the same thing. Something happens, and almost immediately my mind begins explaining it. Someone does not return my telephone call, and I wonder whether they are upset with me. A
The Space Between What Happens and What I Decide It Means Read More »
Why Good Intentions Are Not Enough I have reached a point in life where I understand that wanting something good to happen and creating the conditions that allow it to happen are two different things. I can hope for stronger families, safer communities, better schools, economic opportunity, racial justice, peace, and equality. I can pray
Pray, Then Move: When Faith Must Become Action Read More »
The Ancient Fascination With Other Worlds Human beings have been imagining other worlds for thousands of years. Long before telescopes, particle accelerators, or modern physics, ancient civilizations wondered about worlds beyond their own. They told stories of gods coming down from the heavens and spirits entering other realms. These stories described mysterious boundaries between the
What Success Looked Like When I Was Young When I was a young man, success looked different to me than it does today. Like many young people, I associated getting ahead with what I could accomplish and what other people could see. Money mattered to me. Having a good job and earning a decent living
A Life Worth Keeping: How My Definition of Success Changed Read More »
The Conversation That Never Really Stops There is one person I have been talking to for my entire life, and that person is me. Long before I understood anything about psychology, I knew there was a voice inside my head constantly commenting on what was happening. It reminded me of things I needed to do,
The Voice I Hear Most: Learning How to Talk to Myself Read More »
Another Nervous System Inside Us For most of my life, when I heard somebody talk about having a “gut feeling,” I understood it as a figure of speech. We say something does not sit right with us, that we have butterflies in our stomach, or that our gut is telling us not to trust a
The Second Brain: When My Gut Has Something to Say Read More »
What “Feel It to Heal It” Means I have heard the expression “You have to feel it to heal it,” and there is wisdom in those few words when they are understood carefully. Pain that is constantly avoided does not necessarily disappear simply because we refuse to look at it. Grief, disappointment, fear, anger, and
Learning to Feel Without Being Overwhelmed Read More »