I had a remarkable day, which I’ll tell you about another time. Tonight I must speak of where I’ve been and only this. I stood in Anne Frank’s hidden room in Amsterdam on the Canal of Princes. It was raining slightly, as if tears were being shed by the gods no one believes in anymore. I stood in her musty room with the windows covered, where she glued pictures of movie stars like Greta Garbo on the wall, along with... Read more

Keep trying to hide and in time you become a wall.   Keep trying to love and in time you become love.   Our journey on Earth is to stop hiding, so we can become love.   Everything else is a seduction and a distraction.   Courage is staying true.   A Question to Walk With: Describe your history of hiding and loving. Which has your attention these days and why?   *photo credit: Omar Alnahi Read more

Only when the fish let go their dream of having arms did they grow their magnificent fins.   A Question to Walk With: Tell the story of a dream you had to let go of in order to discover your true gift. This excerpt is from my book, The Way Under The Way: The Place of True Meeting, 2016 Nautilus Award Winner.   *photo credit: Chevanon Photography Read more

I almost died. It could have gone either way. And as I was jettisoned back into life, I saw something that’s hard to put into words. But let me try. You might be working to pick something up. Or put something down. You might be desperate to forget something terrible. Or longing for a love to set you free. Or grieving someone who is irreplaceable. Or trying to find what will keep you going. Fortune or misfortune. Love or loss.... Read more

It was a summer day. Bees were sticking their heads in flowers. Birds were bringing worms back to their nests. And the master was walking another apprentice through the garden. The young man was confused, “You tell us to work hard and you also tell us that what matters just happens.” The master said, “Yes, both are true.” The young man felt toyed with, “Why should we work hard if it doesn’t matter?” As the apprentice kept talking, the master... Read more

Millions paused all over America to look to the sky. Finally, everyone stopped bickering and stood together. From the hills of Virginia to the streets of New York, you could hear everyone breathe beneath their arguments. As the moon bowed to the sun, reasons unraveled. Without the noise, you could feel everything come alive a little bit more. We couldn’t look directly into such a powerful truth. The sky dimmed. The ancients must have thought the world was turning inside... Read more

I just saw a handwritten note from Galileo. He was under house arrest for believing we’re not the center of everything. Now behind me, in the park, a dozen beginners, of all ages, learning how to juggle. We have to start somewhere. The young man who’s so magical at this is asked to instruct. He smiles, “You have to keep trying. Just not the same thing.” Earlier, I leaned over a letter from Lincoln to a dead soldier’s mother. This,... Read more

My wife, Susan, was ill last spring with a serious stomach flu that took us to the emergency room. Tending her brought me closer to the paradox of true care: that giving our all is what matters though we can’t take another’s suffering from them. Yet this awkward tending means everything. On the eighth day, after fixing her pillow and rubbing her head, we heard a bird we didn’t recognize, and that sweet short warble brought us back into life.... Read more