“When we spend time in nature, our ego realizes it has no audience to perform for and it slowly quiets down.” (David Brooks). We’ve been in the Sierras for a week. As my wife and I were fishing along Rush Creek, we came to this spot. We stopped fishing and sat there for an hourContinue reading “Watching the River Flow”
Practicing or Performing?
As you go through your day, do you feel like you are on stage every minute, striving to give a stellar performance? I once heard an engaging talk by a theology professor, Tom Boyd. He noted how we may hear someone is “a practicing Christian” or “a practicing Buddhist.” He then explored the differenceContinue reading “Practicing or Performing?”
The Art of “Living in the Tragic Gap,” Part Two: The American Dream
I’ve been wondering what the 4th of July could mean this year, given all we’ve been through. I decided to do some reading. I started with First Principles: What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country, by Thomas E. Hicks. After the presidential election of 2016, Hicks,Continue reading “The Art of “Living in the Tragic Gap,” Part Two: The American Dream”
The Art of “Living in the Tragic Gap”
There are two stages of life: the first is when we are aspiring to perfection, the second is when that is no longer viable, and we begin to look within. — David Brooks Commencement speakers often encourage young people to dream big. I don’t remember who spoke when I graduated from UCSB yearsContinue reading “The Art of “Living in the Tragic Gap””
Disciple Dog’s “Bow-Attitudes”
Disciple Dog shares a list of “Bow-Atitudes” and encourages us to do the same.
They Survived a Pandemic and Built a Cathedral –How Will We Remember COVID?
Karlskirche was created out of gratitude for surviving a plague; how will we memorialize COVID?
Honey and Other Things: Exploring Our Inner Selves
Years ago, I heard a presentation by Tom Boyd, a philosophy professor from the University of Oklahoma. As a boy he spent summers with his grandfather on a ranch in Texas. One chore was to help harvest honey. After collecting, they would filter it and pour it into jars, then apply a label, “PureContinue reading “Honey and Other Things: Exploring Our Inner Selves”
Images of Our Lives: Resumes, Eulogies, Compost
PBS and New York Times commentator David Brooks has experienced a major spiritual transformation in recent years. One of his epiphanies is that many of us live with two sets of virtues in play. As he wrote in a column entitled “The Moral Bucket List”: It occurred to me that there were twoContinue reading “Images of Our Lives: Resumes, Eulogies, Compost”
The Gift of Disillusionment
It’s a hard word to hear…disillusionment. In our relationships: Someone we’ve trusted does something that hurts or disappoints us. We feel deflated, confused, betrayed. At work: The organization we are working for makes a decision that shocks or upsets us. We realize we’ve been trusting the organization to act a certain way, but it makes aContinue reading “The Gift of Disillusionment”
Love As Care and Confrontation
Years ago, a wise therapist said: “Steve, remember– love is a combination of care and confrontation.” That came as a shock. I had assumed “love” only meant “care.” But over the years I’ve reflected on this insight many times. This week I will explore how this perspective on love is reflected in our spiritual journeys.Continue reading “Love As Care and Confrontation”
Steve Jacobsen, Ed.D 