Originally posted 12/20/2011… As Tom Shadyac professes in his film “I AM:” We are all connected. Each person on this planet is connected to every other man, woman and child, and it goes deeper still … all of creation is connected. Our connectivity mandates that we make good choices because even the least of our …
Tag Archives: peace
How We Want to Live
“O Lord, hear my prayer and let my cry come unto you.” Psalm 102 As a daily Mass attendee for six years, I’ve recited Psalm 102 many times as a responsorial psalm to daily readings. I thought about it this week when my friend Justin posted this picture from our kitchen in Cité Soleil, Haiti. …
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 …
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 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”
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 …
Thanksgiving
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, a day which was first declared a federal holiday in 1863 in the midst of the War Between the States by President Abraham Lincoln. It pains me to think that 150 years later, it is more often referred to as the day before black Friday. The year has been a challenging …
A Reflection on Pope Francis
I made my first trip to Argentina in 1990. Although I took one year of Spanish in college in 1967, I was far from fluent, so I carried a small pocket dictionary. After a 15-hour flight from St. Louis through Miami, my clothes were quite wrinkled. The first word I learned from that dictionary was …
The First Stone
Early in the week, I read an interesting piece on the Spirituality and Practice website entitled, “The First Stone or Hypocrite Stone.” It is an unique practice presented by Tom Cowan. I do not know Tom Cowan, but his suggestion makes perfect sense to me… “… carry a small stone in your pocket or purse …
Chief Joseph
In 1879, Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé Indians traveled to Washington, D.C. and met with President Rutherford B. Hayes and other government leaders to plead his case to return his tribe – displaced from the Northwest to Oklahoma’s Indian Territory – to their original home in Oregon. Chief Joseph was known as a skilled …