Is it 5:00 yet? These are words you’ll hear almost daily in our house as we enter the fourth week of our Covid-19 related quarantine. And it’s not because 5:00 is quitting time from work—it marks the hour when my wife and I uncork a bottle of wine or uncap a couple of bottles of beers. During pre-Coronavirus times, we limited our drinking to weekends. Admittedly, with the occasional glass of wine on weekdays. But if you’re like me, and... Read more
How are you dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic? Has your extended time at home, away from the pressures of the outside world, allowed you to find a sense of centeredness and calm? Or has the nonstop drumbeat of negative news left you feeling anxious, maybe even angry, about your predicament and the plight of the world? I’ve written before about dealing with anger. I’ve also written extensively about prayer. But I was surprised to recently discover that there’s a place where... Read more
Where is God in all this? Why is God allowing COVID-19 to happen? I’ve written about God’s role after other deeply unsettling events like 9/11, the Newtown shootings, the Boston Marathon bombing and the Las Vegas massacre. I’m now pondering my words again, trying to make sense of what has become an ever-expanding tragedy, one that will take more lives than all the previously mentioned events combined. Let’s start by looking at God and the Christian belief, via St. Augustine,... Read more
Are you afraid? Me too. It’s hard not to be fearful during these scary coronavirus times, a quick glimpse of a major news site is enough to get your head spinning and your heart sinking. We can do something about it. It’s time to lessen the fear you and I are now facing. In times of crisis I often turn to the advice of the businessman/philosopher John Templeton. He was prescient for our current state of affairs when he wrote:... Read more
Can faith help us in a time of crisis? If we believe in a God, will our prayers and petitions lead us to the best possible outcome, for ourselves, our families and for our society? Faith is a curious thing. It may be that you either have the faith gene within you or you don’t. The author David Foster Wallace once gave a now fabled commencement speech titled This is Water. As part of that speech, Foster Wallace told the tale... Read more
Tom Shadyac was once a big-time Hollywood director, the man behind the films that launched Jim Carrey to fame, including the Ace Ventura series. He also directed The Nutty Professor with Eddie Murphy and the blockbuster Evan Almighty. Then, after banking tens of millions of dollars, he comes to a growing realization: His life is way off track. As much as he thinks of himself as a spiritual guy, his life has lost its focus. He has placed his own... Read more
This story appears in the new book Wake Up Call: Daily Insights for the Spiritually Curious. As you grow older, do you really begin to figure it all out? Do you start to realize what your purpose was here on Earth and what you need to do before your departure from this life? After years of reading about and talking to elders, I think the answer is mixed. In short, some people just don’t figure it out—but the flip side... Read more
If the only prayer you ever say is thank you, it will be enough. ~Meister Eckhart What are you thankful for? Chances are, if you stop what you’re doing right now, you can come up with a bunch of reasons to give thanks. Think about everything, from the people you love, to the roof over your head, to the phone or computer you’re reading this on. No matter what’s wrong in your life right now, you must admit that there... Read more
Pick up the classic Chinese philosophy book titled Tao Te Ching and its logic may escape you. That’s how I felt when I read it years ago, puzzled by lines like “when nothing is done, nothing is left undone.” But taking a closer look today, it’s beginning to make more sense. The Tao Te Ching is comprised of aphorisms (or sayings) that detail the principles of a philosophy called the Tao. Added together, these sayings have been alternately defined as... Read more
The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. ~Eden Phillpotts What if there was magic in the world that was just out of your view? What if by honing your instincts, by taking the time to look at life a little more closely, it revealed itself? The magic I’m talking about here has nothing to do with sleight of hand or pulling a bunny out of a hat. It’s about the magical realization... Read more
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