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…
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…
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…
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…
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…