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Blessings Abound
It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to Continue reading
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Emotional Tattoos
In Hinduism, Shiva is a deity who represents transformation. Through destruction and restoration, Shiva reminds us that endings are beginnings, and that our world is constantly undergoing a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Karen Salmansohn Not too long ago I heard an interview with the director of the 2013 movie The Place Beyond the Continue reading
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Kitchen Ministry
I just hope Americans come to understand that food isn’t something to be manipulated by our teeth and shoved down our gullet, that it’s our spiritual and physical nourishment and important to our well-being as a nation. Alice Waters When I was just a lad of 10 or 11, my mother required an operation followed Continue reading
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Believe Him
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamedlet it be that great strong land of lovewhere never kings connive nor tyrants schemethat any man be crushed by one above Langston Hughes Tomorrow is voting day here in The United States and I am still trying to make sense of the Trump voter. How is it Continue reading
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The Price of Privacy: A Devil’s Bargain
Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this – no dog exchanges bones with another. Adam Smith LinkedIn recently suggested that I congratulate one of my connections on his work anniversary. This kind of message isn’t out of the ordinary — social media, after all, is all about building, strengthening and Continue reading
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Everyone Needs Someone to Bark With
Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. Oprah Winfrey I have made a lot of mistakes over the years, but the biggest may have been to not build and foster long term friendships. Continue reading
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It’s all in the Game
It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life. Mickey Mantle I worked in high tech jobs for over 40 years, but I am not a high tech person. I don’t need to stay current with the latest and greatest gadgets and this has been especially true with Continue reading
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A To-Do List for a Better Life
We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: we need books, time, and silence. “Thou shalt not” is soon forgotten, but “Once upon a time” lasts forever. Phillip Pullman A much younger me believed I was in control of my fate. I lived life with the notion that whatever I was and wherever Continue reading
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Three Vignettes
I can barely conceive of a type of beauty in which there is no Melancholy. Charles Baudelaire Foster’s Creek Few mourned when Clarence Findley died. He did not live a life that endeared him to many people. Clarence Findley was a hard drinking, mean spirited cuss of a man, and you could count on one Continue reading
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It’s Life’s Illusions I Recall
It is better to have your head in the clouds, and know where you are than to breathe the clearer atmosphere below them, and think that you are in paradise. Henry David Thoreau Every so often I play the same song over and over again. For the past two days, I have done that with Continue reading
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The White Space of Life
The Road goes ever on and onDown from the door where it began.Now far ahead the Road has gone,And I must follow, if I can,Pursuing it with eager feet,Until it joins some larger wayWhere many paths and errands meet.And whither then? I cannot say. J. R. R. Tolkien I became enamored with East Indian culture Continue reading
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The Time for Prayer Has Passed
The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people. Martin Luther King Jr. Once more my news feed is filled with stories about another school shooting. Four people were killed, nine were injured, and the perpetrator appears to be 14-year-old boy with Continue reading
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The Bait and Switch of Student Loans
My values, our values, aren’t about pointing fingers. They are about offering a helping hand. Kathleen Blanco The cost of higher education has changed quite a bit since I was a young man. I went to Arizona State University in the late 1970s and early 1980s when tuition was $500 a semester. Add another $500 Continue reading
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Richard Alexander Prokop
Death ends a life, not a relationship. Mitch Albom August 28, 2024 marks the eight-year anniversary of my brother Richard’s unexpected and not so unexpected death. I say “not so unexpected” since Richard had been neglecting his health for a long time. He was the type who either ignored a problem or minimized its significance. Continue reading
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Do You Love Me
Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry One of the most poignant and tender moments in the musical Fiddler on the Roof is when Tevye sings to his wife, Golde, “Do you love me?” She answers him with, “For twenty-five years I’ve washed your Continue reading
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This I Believe
It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen. Muhammad Ali Each meeting of my men’s retirement group has a different topic of discussion. In the past, we’ve spoken about everything from unexpected events that changed our lives to how we approach downsizing. Continue reading
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Embracing a To-Be List to Transform Daily Tasks into Spiritual Growth Practices
The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. Helen Keller As soon as I was sure that retirement was imminent, I made serious efforts to expand my community. For decades, nearly everyone I associated with on a regular basis was connected to my jobs and for the most part these Continue reading
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That Vote Was Mine
America’s democracy is not guaranteed. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. To guard it, and never take it for granted and protecting our democracy takes struggle. It takes sacrifice. But there is joy in it. And there is progress. Because we the people have the power to build a Continue reading
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A Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory For The Masses
This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet. Rumi The original 12-Step program was developed in the 1930s as a way for alcoholics to stay sober. The steps begin by recognizing an Continue reading
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The Artist or the Art
This is the artist, then, life’s hungry man, the glutton of eternity, beauty’s miser, glory’s slave. Tom Wolfe Once upon a time I called Woody Allen’s Manhattan his greatest film. From the black and white cinematography to the Gershwin score to the cutting edge humor to the spot on directing, it was a masterpiece of Continue reading
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Can You Hear Me Now 