Date Archives October 2020

I’ve been collaborating on some projects with author and theologian Matthew Fox recently. In a conversation with our mutual colleague, Dr. Luther Smith, Matthew quoted a statistic that left me absolutely stunned.  In talking about our worrisome descent into self-destruction as a global society, he said, “People in the US spend $56,000 EVERY SECOND on weapons development. I can think of a lot more creative ways to spend that kind of money.” Couldn’t we all? St. Thomas Aquinas, a medieval Roman Catholic scholar, was the first to coin the term “common good.” He was… Read More

Every time I get in my airplane to fly, I am required to get a current weather report. In aviation lingo, its called an ATIS (automatic terminal information service) report. I tune my comms to a designated frequency and listen to a recording that is updated about every 20 minutes by an air traffic controller. The report tells me about conditions at the airfield. I hear the latest wind direction and speeds, temperature, dewpoint, altimeter setting, and any service issues such as a taxiway closed or a lighting system out.  When I am… Read More

The northeast Indian state of Meghalaya is considered to be the wettest region in the world. The Khasi people who have lived there for generations have learned to live with extreme monsoon seasons with between 32 and 45 feet of rainfall a year. Most of these villages do not have road access. Getting from place to place means crossing wide, dangerous rivers. Crossing these rivers isn’t possible without a bridge. But the raging waters presented a profound challenge. Any bridges they built and installed were washed away. Ladders were swept… Read More

With all of the trauma and drama we are living in, I felt I was losing bearings. So, I wrote a letter to myself. I wrote it as if I was 20 years older than I am today. I imagined my older, wiser self writing to the person I am today, offering advice. I share it with you, not to say “adopt this as your wisdom,” but more to say, “if you need to remember who you are, this exercise might help.” Try it. In Search Of…Me Dear One, You’re… Read More

I’ve spent hours in conversation with people over the past two days who watched the presidential debate and then suffered post-traumatic stress responses. Suddenly, they remembered the terror they felt when their ex-spouse would scream at them. They remembered the frustration when they couldn’t get a word in. They remembered wishing to disappear, make the attacks stop, just placate the bully until they could get away. Tuesday night, we were assaulted, bullied, and gaslighted by our President. We were subjected to abusive, cruel behavior from someone who is sworn to… Read More