Are We More or Less Compassionate Today? Everyone is born, lives a life, and dies. This is a basic fact. But how we live, what we do when we live, how we face life and its curve balls—well, that is up to the person doing the living. Read more
Are We More or Less Compassionate Today? Everyone is born, lives a life, and dies. This is a basic fact. But how we live, what we do when we live, how we face life and its curve balls—well, that is up to the person doing the living. Read more
Finding the Goodness and Happiness—It’s Out There These days, we all live life at full tilt with no half-measures. We either “really, really love” something, or we “absolutely, positively hate” something. At work, at home, and in society, we constantly judge the actions and intentions of others. So, what if we pulled back? We didn’t judge. We saw what was actually taking place. A Little Story—One My wife and I have a one-year-old rescue pup (Stormy) who has never met a person,... Read more
“They’re Evil!” “We’re the Way!” “They’re coming for you!” “We need to defend ourselves!” “We need to hide!” “We need to get them before they get us!” “It’s imperative!” “It’s either us or them!” “Blah… Blah… Blah…” We’ve all heard these on the news, from our neighbors, and in political ads. “It’s doomsday; the world is coming to an end,” and all the nuclear option rhetoric we’ve come to loath and cringe in the political cycle. Anyone trying to sway the public knows demonizing the “other” is the easiest way to create animosity toward them and gain votes for your side. Read more
I like making mistakes. Okay, that’s a bald-faced lie. I should say instead that I like learning from my mistakes. While the mistakes can be painful, time-consuming, and mortifying, they allow learning from them. What do I learn from my own mistakes and others? Character. Read more
Have you ever heard that small inner voice say, “Who do you think you are? You can’t do this! Why did you ever think you were one of the special people who could do this?” I think we all have. But what about someone who has a real disadvantage? Say someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD, or is Bipolar, or Manic-Depressive? Go one further—someone who has lost a limb or an integral organ. Surely they have a right and a reason to believe that inner voice? Read more
It sounds like an odd question but it’s one I’ve been tossing around for a while. It’s astounding how many truly unhappy people there are in America, even though we are quite literally in the richest, and most technologically advanced country in the world. I hear complaining and kvetching daily over the most inane and quite honestly laughable things. In the midst of these thoughts, I remembered a friend of mine while having a bowl of Wanton soup. Read more
Have you ever heard, “I'm sorry, but I’m not getting what I need from you.” Being in a church relationship is kind of like a dating relationship. Eventually, you will hear it from someone leaving your church. But the question is, did they ever tell anyone what their expectations of the relationship were? Read more
When we are baptized into Christianity, each of us takes on the mantle of becoming a “Priest, Prophet, and King.” But what does this mean to us, and how does it affect our lives? What do we do with this? Is it only for men? Read more
We recently returned to an event in San Francisco, CA, where I sang on the San Francisco Opera stage. Now, for many, that would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. But I’d sung on that site several times before when I was singing for a living. Don’t get me wrong; it’s always a thrill to sing on one of the world's greatest stages, but as Huey Lewis sang so aptly, “Better remember, lightning never strikes twice.” I’m not saying the trip was a let down. Not at all. But you can’t expect to go back like nothing has changed. Read more
Many years ago, before my wife and I met, when a date would come to the door to pick her up, they would be met at the door by her brother. He would always be mid-cleaning his favorite shotgun and just happen to answer the door with it still in his hand. All six-foot-six of him would lean down to the face of the prospective date and ask, “What are your intentions with my little sister?” Read more
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