This post first appeared a decade ago, in March 2012. Since then – from my perspective – things have only gotten worse. Forty years ago, I habitually read The New York Times from cover to cover. I trusted the writers who were committed to writing the truth and to attributing their facts to sources. Today, …
Tag Archives: intelligence
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Some things are not meant to be forgotten. Fifty-three years ago on this day, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. penned his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The letter is one of those things that must remain an important part of human thought. Five years ago, we first posted a piece that speaks to the heart of …
Mitakuye Oyasin
Those of you who regularly follow this website know that one of my favorite expressions is “Mitakuye Oyasin.” I learned it many years ago. As a Buddhist or Hindu might greet you with “Namaste,” “I salute the God within you,” the Sioux Indian would say, “Mitakuye Oyasin,” which means “We are all family.” As I walk …
Grandfather
A tree is the perfect presence. The tree teaches us how to journey.” John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes “Make me wise so that I may know the things you have taught your children in every leaf and every stone.” Chief Yellow Lark
Our Greatest Blunder
Redemptorist priest Pat Hawk spent his last day on earth three years ago in 2012. He was a quiet, contemplative man. Although I did not know him well, I did attend several of his open ‘pathless path’ sessions at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Picture Rocks. Father Hawk was a Roshi, a highly venerated senior …
The Town by the Bend in the River
Several years ago, my friend Gerry told me the story of the star thrower, which I often refer to in posts and general conversation. It is a terrific story with an important message: you can choose to make a difference regardless of the circumstances stacked against you. I have come across another story that I …
The Greatness of a Nation
A few weeks ago as my friend Ch**k was driving down the road chatting with me on his cell phone (VERY safely I must emphasize [and I have disguised his name so he will not get in trouble for driving and talking at the same time]), he was unable to avoid a small Arizona ground …
The Most Beautiful Story I Have Ever Read
In 2014, I have read three books by Minnesotan Kent Nerburn. I know him for his stories on Native Americans. Last week as I searched for new books for the bookstore I volunteer at, I found a book written in 1999 by Mr. Nerburn titled Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace, Living in the …
Continue reading “The Most Beautiful Story I Have Ever Read”
Live As Though You Remember
It occurred to me this morning as I was researching my ‘manuscript in process’ that I have used the idea of “remembering” early in each of my historical novels. “I’ve been tempted to lose count of the years as each comes and goes, but I remember. Remembering is important.” – The Olympian: A Tale of …
The War Prayer
I may have mentioned I have been reading an excellent volume, The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart: Poems for Men. I come upon poem after poem that demands and commands my attention. I so much like this book that I purchased four copies, one for each son and one for my son-in-law. Last …