My mother passed away in August 2010; she died in the middle of the night in an assisted living facility not far from our home. My father passed away 24 hours ago; he died peacefully in his own bed in this house just like he wanted to. He was two months shy of his 93rd …
Tag Archives: prayer
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 …
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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 …
When You’re Feeling Like George Bailey
“I had the blues ’cause I had no shoes until I met a man on the street who had no feet.” When my kids were growing up, that is how I would teach them to respond to even their legitimate woes: someone is always in a more dire strait. Sometimes, however, a person gets the …
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 …
Si’ahl and Non-violence
The Dawes Act and subsequent legislation may have benefitted white settlers, but it provided the framework that reduced many proud Native American tribes and their holy traditions to poverty and disrespect. In honor of Si’ahl’s stand on non-violence, tVM is proud to print the ‘Prayer to the Four Directions’ attributed to Chief Seattle with the …
Etty Hillesum, March 9, 1941
On March 12, 1941, Etty Hillesum wrote in her diary, “‘Melodious rolls the world from God’s right hand.’ This line by Vewey was stuck in my head all day. I too wanted to roll melodiously out of God’s hand.” Me, too! I want to join Etty Hillesum in her quest! We all can, and it …
tVM 2011 Summary
We initiated The Vitruvian Man, In Search of Kalos Kagathos blog seven months ago, in May 2011. As we approach the end of the year, I want to share with you some observations on tVM in 2011. I hope that this blog has encouraged you to explore your spirituality and to explore how you interact …
Vision Quest, part II: Three Notable Vision Quests
The population of the world is approximately 7 billion, and nearly 60% of all men, women and children on this planet claim to practice one of these three religions: Christianity 2.1 billion Islam 1.5 billion Buddhism 376 million Common among these three religions is …
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