As the calendar turns to March, it’s time to revisit the gratitude practice inspired by Angeles Arrien’s Living in Gratitude. In February I vowed to be more deliberate in sending compassionate thoughts to those who irritate me. This practice, alas, proved harder than I thought it would be. I could blame others for ramping up their irritation level, but honestly, I think the fault actually lies with me. Mea culpa. Time to start anew. In Arrien’s book, this month’s chapter is... Read more
What happens when the things you thought you knew about leading a spiritual life no longer seem to make sense in the life you find yourself living? That’s the central question of Lauren F. Winner’s memoir, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis. I was intrigued when I heard that Winner had a new book out, especially when I learned its subject: a crisis of religious faith triggered in part by her mother’s death and her marriage ending in divorce. “Some days I... Read more
For my last post on Israel, let me take you to one of the most spectacular archeological sites in the world: Masada, a remote mountain-top fortress in the Judean desert where nearly 1000 Jewish Zealots made their last stand against the Romans in 73 A.D. Overlooking the Dead Sea from a height of 1300 feet, the site plays an important symbolic role for the modern state of Israel. If you want to understand the Israeli character, in fact, you must... Read more
Today we visit Bethlehem, as in O Little Town Of. Surrounded by rocky hills, Bethlehem is one of the most sacred places in Christianity, honored as the birthplace of both King David and Jesus. The city is just five miles south of Jerusalem, but since 1995 it has been part of the Palestinian National Authority rather than Israel. While many Palestinians have difficulties traveling across the border into Israel, tourists are free to come and go with only a brief... Read more
With its twisting labyrinth of streets, alleyways, and cave-like merchants stalls, the Old City is the most fascinating part of Jerusalem. It is divided into four quarters: Christian, Jewish, Armenian and Muslim. Its crowded streets bustle with orthodox Jews, robed Muslims, Israeli soldiers, and Christian pilgrims from around the world. For Christians, of course, the holiest parts of the Old City are the sites connected to the life of Jesus. The Via Dolorosa, the “Way of Sorrow,” marks the path... Read more
Tell me, is there a place that has been more fought over than Jerusalem? If one were so inclined, in fact, one could put forth Jerusalem as Exhibit A for how religion divides, rather than unites. With 5,000 years of habitation, Jerusalem is considered a holy city by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which hasn’t kept their followers from killing each other multiple times in their efforts to control the city. Before leaving for Israel I read Karen Armstrong’s Jerusalem: One... Read more
The place in Israel where the story of Jesus came most vividly to life for me was Capernaum. Much of Jesus’ public ministry took place in this town, which lies on the northern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. During Jesus’ day, Capernaum was much more important both economically and politically than his hometown of Nazareth. Located on an important trade route known as the Via Maris and surrounded by fertile land, it also bordered a part of the Sea... Read more
My favorite part of Israel was Galilee, a region in the northern part of the country. What surprised me most was how beautiful and green it was. I had expected Israel to be mostly dry and rocky desert, but Galilee is lush and fertile. Part of the reason was that I visited in January after a week of good rain. But our guides said that Galilee has always been the greenest part of Israel, a place of mountain peaks, evergreen... Read more
Here I’ve written only three words (see the title above) and already I feel like I have to be extra careful with my words. For of course the words “Holy Land” have layers of history, conflict and ambiguity built into them, because Israel is regarded as holy by three major faiths—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—as well as one lesser-known religion, the Bahá’í faith. So whose Holy Land is it? “In Israel, words can have the force of weapons,” one of our... Read more
Optimism is not about whistling happy tunes to ourselves when life gets challenging. It is about disciplining our minds to create more empowering explanations of what’s going on. – Martin Seligman Where there is no vision, the people perish. –Proverbs 19:18 This is my final blog on aging, at least for the moment. As I said at the beginning of this series, I am contemplating writing a book on this topic and I would very much appreciate your thoughts about... Read more
Holy Rover
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