Change is difficult. We fear moving forward. We fear remaining stuck where we are. It’s fear all the way around. Working with fear remains a vital part of being alive. As a boy, I was a very good swimmer. When I was nine or ten, I took my first deepwater test. It occurred Read more
How do we create a life involving relationships with those we love and cherish, friends and intimate partners who recognize and appreciate who we are? How do we find stimulating work that expresses our unique talents and abilities, giving our lives purpose and meaning? How do we create a sense of being Read more
Do you remember the Biblical story of Jacob wrestling with the angel? Jacob manipulated his brother Esau to sell his inheritance for a bowl of stew and then stole his father’s blessing. Twenty years later, on the eve of being reunited with Esau, a strange being, an angel or perhaps Read more
The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy considered the Biblical story of Joseph the most beautiful ever written. He had a point. Do you remember it? Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son. Papa made a glorious coat for the boy and the brothers seethed with envy. They considered killing their hated brother but Read more
Thomas Edison worked feverishly to discover a suitable element for the filament of his light bulb prototype. He and his assistants tried many, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of different elements. Each attempt ended in failure. Nothing worked. Feeling great despair, some in his lab wanted to give up. But Read more
Shortly before his death, Abraham Joshua Heschel, the great 20th century Jewish theologian, confided to a friend that he never wanted fame or fortune. He asked for wonder. And he felt God had given him wonder. What an extraordinary thing to wish for. A life full of wonder. Here are some Read more
Consider the life of Moses. He was born into a Hebrew family enslaved in Egypt. His parents were happy to have a son. But Pharaoh condemned every Hebrew male child to death, so the parents built an ark and sent the infant down the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter adopted the Hebrew Read more
The great twentieth century poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote that for one human being to love another was the most difficult thing, everything else in life was preparation. What is it that makes loving another so difficult? When we meet someone who sparks our love interest, we put our best Read more
We have many words to refer to the Sacred: God, Yahweh, Allah, the Lord, the Creator, the Divine, Consciousness, the Absolute, the Self, the Tao. The words are different, but they come from the same place, and go to the same place: everywhere and nowhere. At the Burning Bush, Moses worried Read more
I grew up in New York City and did not learn to drive until I was twenty-seven. Growing up, it was easy to get around the city using mass transit. If our family needed a car, my parents rented or borrowed one. In my late twenties, I lived in the Read more
Some years ago, I was riding home on the subway during rush hour. Of course, the car was packed. I recall being preoccupied by some petty drama. At the end of a long day, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I’m sure you know the feeling. Read more
Each of us knows the fear of death. Our lives are like blades of grass, wrote the Psalmist; whose other side is salvation/whose meaning none of us will ever know, wrote the poet Mary Oliver. Life is fragile and fleeting, while death is final and enduring. But what if the fear Read more
An ancient Jewish law called shmita (pronounced shmee-tah) proclaimed that every seven years, the land must lie fallow. All work, including plowing, planting, and harvesting, was forbidden. It paralleled the observation of the sabbath. Each week, the sabbath was considered a sacred day of rest, a day of study and Read more
In the book of Exodus, God unleashed a series of horrific plagues against Egypt to liberate the ancient Israelites from slavery. Then He enabled Moses to part the Sea of Reeds, to help them avoid recapture by Pharaoh’s army. But even after witnessing these extraordinary miracles delivered on their behalf, Read more
For years, I went to the gym for a cardio workout. To reach the elliptical machines, I hurried through various weightlifting areas. I never thought of lifting, but one day the spirit moved me. I hired a personal trainer and got paired with a mordant British wit. We focused on dead Read more
Everything important in our lives involves our capacity to listen. We are always in conversation. With ourselves, those around us and the wider world. Listening requires us to be mindful about listening. Think about the countless times you’ve been speaking with someone, and rather than listening to what they are Read more
The Benedictine monk David Stendl-Rast once said the opposite of exhaustion is not rest, it’s wholeheartedness. It is exhausting to be involved with something you are not fully committed to or invested in, that does not enable you to feel engaged, present and alive. As the poet David Whyte reminds us: Read more