In the middle of this fortnight of the 2022 Winter Olympics, we’ve been reading and hearing about a distinctive shift in attitudes and reactions to and by the athletes, related to their mental and emotional health. Recent commentaries and articles attribute this shift to when Simone Biles, arguably the world’s best gymnast, dropped out of…
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The two disciples whom Jesus joined on the road to Emmaus recognized him in the breaking of the bread. What is a more common, ordinary gesture than breaking bread? It may be the most human of all human gestures: a gesture of hospitality, friendship, care, and the desire to be together. Taking a loaf of…
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To be present is to listen and to identify with each other as mortal, fragile human beings who need to be heard and sustained by one another, not distracted or entertained. Henri Nouwen One of the disciplines that we both care very deeply about is the practice of being ‘fully’ present with our neighbors. …
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Who am I to get something published? Who am I that anyone would care to read what I thought? Who am I that anyone would care what I had to say? And pay money for it?As the World Series starts tonight, we thought of Justin Verlander, 29, the incredibly successful pitcher for the American League…
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Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. Vaclav Havel What is this thing called hope?We hear it all the time,thrown around as if it is our salvation.Never give…
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“I am struck by how sharing our weakness and difficulties is more nourishing to others than sharing our qualities and successes.” ― Jean Vanier, Community And Growth Being in the midst of the presidential conventions reminds us of a story from the campaign four years ago. Hillary Clinton, who had a reputation of sometimes being…
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You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. ~Steve Jobs Lately we have had many conversations with…
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Things get bad for all of us, almost continually, and what we do under the constant stress reveals who and what we are. Charles Bukowski A friend from California, spoke of terrible wild fires that raged several years ago very near his home. The fires left a massive swath of destruction behind them. The…
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Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. Mark Twain We have all heard the adage that laughter is the best medicine and this past week both of us saw those words come true once again. I (Michael) spent time with a friend who for the last seven years has been going through an…
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