Category Archives: Awe and Wonder
Reflection
This is the time of the year when many people of many faiths attune themselves to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, what Catholics refer to as the three pillars of Lent. Regardless of your religious and spiritual persuasion, this is a time when each of us can reflect upon exactly what it is that we do …
Kale
From the day I returned to the desert in 2019, my friend Dwight has encouraged me to grow vegetables in my small, residential backyard. Mrs. tVM and I set up a 3’x8’ plot last summer and planted tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant. The plants grew and blossomed but never produced fruit. We were confused until Dwight’s …
Learning Patience
I was not born a patient man. Two things have helped me improve my patience in recent years: my dog Clarence and agriculture. Clarence’s curiosity and playfulness combined with his great strength make him a handful, but I learned much from his trainer, Becca with K9 Offleash Training in Minneapolis. Through four hours of training, …
The Song of Amergin
It is said that The Song of Amergin is the first poem of Ireland. I discovered it almost a decade ago as I began research for my book Gaspar, Another Tale of the Christ. Historically, Ireland was never conquered by a foreign invader. We know for certain that Ireland was never a part of the …
If You Want to Change the World
If you want to change the world start with this blueprint… Years ago, I watched Admiral William H. McKraven’s 2014 commencement speech at his alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin. The speech is frequently known as the ‘Make Your Bed’ speech. You may have seen an ad for it on one of your …
Healthcare
Over the years, I’ve come to understand that healthcare is a function of eating wisely – also called eating ‘healthily’ – and regular exercise. That said, there are billions on this planet – too many children – who do not have the opportunity to eat healthily or to exercise on an over-priced machine. There is …
Anthropause
I learned two new words in 2020, anthropause and Anthropocene. Coined by a group of international researchers in a paper they collaboratively wrote in June 2020, anthropause means “a considerable global slowing of modern human activities, notably travel.” This is how this group of researchers characterize the international lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19. …
As the New Year Dawns
In 2021 – our 11th year – we hope to corral the pandemic and turn our backs on the cultural and political discord that threatens to destroy the goodness that is inherent in each of us. It is in our DNA to do the right thing. We were born in original goodness. To turn our …
Christmas Eve 1968
I was reminded this morning that on Christmas Eve in 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft with astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders entered orbit around the moon. They were the first humans to orbit a celestial body other than Earth. They were asked to send a Christmas Eve broadcast to Earth and advised …