Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
Nothing characterized my early journey in faith more than doubt. From the first moment I picked up a Baltimore Catechism, skepticism set in. I was taught that every person enters the world with the table already set, answers to every question, truth to negate every falsehood, and clear, dark lines defining the good and the bad. The rule book for life was a time-tested document … Continue reading Saved by Doubt
My mother, Theresa Moriarty, was a towering figure in my life. She birthed not only my body but my conscious soul. Indeed, if there is a heaven and ever I get there, it’ll be on Mother’s passport. She was a plain-spoken woman, whip-smart, given to simple truths. She had an attitude some would describe as gnarly. As a woman raised in the teeth of depression … Continue reading In Praise of Honesty
“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss – an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. – is sure to be noticed.” Søren Kierkegaard The danger of losing one’s self grows during times that feel unfamiliar. Think of how … Continue reading Beyond the Great Regression
Today I found a poem by Theodore Roethke sitting in my inbox. My good friend Neil Vance sent it without a message. It hardly needed one. The poem is entitled “Infirmity.” I read it and my soul was enlarged a thousand times. Theodore Roethke passed away in 1963. At the time he was living on Bainbridge Island near Seattle and teaching at the University of … Continue reading Infirmity
Oath of Jurors: It is your duty to base your verdict solely upon the evidence, without prejudice or sympathy. I was recently called for jury duty and learned a thing or two about the jurors’ oath. Rendering a verdict solely upon the evidence, without prejudice or sympathy, ain’t that easy. I found I was a guy filled with his own peculiar brand of bias cleverly disguised … Continue reading Beyond Bias