Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, “God bless Us, Every One!” ― From A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens Hmm. So how do you keep Christmas — well? Dickens shared his notion … Continue reading What Does It Mean To “Keep Christmas?”
During a desperate moment in the Civil War Abraham Lincoln observed: Doing battle in the name of God is a very tricky business, for each side can quote the same verse to justify the slaughter of the other. So it goes with “an eye for an eye.” “But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for … Continue reading Beyond “An Eye For An Eye”
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” ~ Joseph Campbell I came upon that quote and as I lay awake in my hospital bed at 3 a.m. a few weeks ago. I wondered, how privileged am I for being me? And, more troubling, who exactly exactly am I? It had been a while since I’d checked in with myself and it seemed … Continue reading The Privilege of a Lifetime
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” ~ Carl Jung For the past two months I’ve been battling kidney stones. Ugh. It has felt very much like living in the presence of constant shadow. There’s been no time in the past 50 years when I’ve been so sedentary. I’ve had nothing to distract me and have … Continue reading My Inscrutable Shadow
“The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.” ~ E. L. Bulwer In hindsight, I think most of us would agree that teachers are among the most important people we’ll ever encounter. They are uniquely positioned to BE THERE when we most need someone to — BE THERE. When I recently read … Continue reading Thank You, Mr. Miller