Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
Marsha and I have a number of dear friends engaged in difficult situations. We each have our own way of praying for them, and shared with each other recently how seriously we take these prayers. Our conversation got me curious about the role of prayer in the lives of two individuals who changed the course of American history. Isabella Baumfree was an African American born … Continue reading Does Prayer Have Power?
Where are the Good Men? Charlie Brown has always been for me an illustration of goodness, a kind of compass that points to true north. Before I got sober, I sometimes felt like Alice in Wonderland when she slipped down the rabbit hole: reality no longer mattered, truth had become fiction, good people were now bad, heroes now villains. When I climbed out from my … Continue reading Finding Goodness
“Know thyself.” ~ Socrates In his book on emotional intelligence Daniel Goleman recounts the story of a belligerent samurai who challenges a Zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell. “The monk replied to him with scorn, ‘You’re nothing but a lout – I can’t waste my time with the likes of you!’ “His very honor attacked, the samurai flew into a rage and, … Continue reading Emotional Intelligence
Marsha and I recently watched The Last Dance, a documentary on the final season (1997) of the Chicago Bulls dynasty. A team for the ages. A flood of memories poured in. I lived in Chicago during the years when the Bulls dominated basketball. Chicagoans actually looked forward to winter just to watch them play! People remember their lead player, the legendary Michael Jordan, but the … Continue reading The Glory of Not Having All the Glory
Intro from Marsha: Recently, on one of our neighborhood walks, I told Pat I was feeling down. The feeling has been a regular visitor since the pandemic began, and I’ve been learning to let it come and go as it will. As we talked, it suddenly hit me: why don’t I start a gratitude practice? I know there are lots of studies showing that people … Continue reading Attitude of Gratitude (by Eileen)