Hopeful Thinking

        Many years ago I read a book by Helen Keller in which she describes her theology of risk. “Security is mostly a superstition,” she wrote. In an already dangerous world, her’s was even more so for being blind as well as deaf. And yet her courage shone through. She made it look easy. My own daughter Lavender is blind. Several years before she became part of our family she was a member of an afterschool music program I founded called the Tribe. One day, the kids were on a break from rehearsing by taking turns rolling down a big grassy hill out behind the music room. Lavender wanted to roll down the hill, too. It then occurred to me just how courageous one must be when they cannot see the world which threatens them. Her courage was demonstrated in the completely carefree manner she simply threw herself off the top edge of the hill, rolling at full speed into the unknown. No knowledge of how big the hill was. No knowle...

We get an extra week of the holiday season this year. Thanksgiving Day in 2018 is the earliest it can possibly be, in fact. What’s your gut reaction to that thought? Think for a moment and look back at your very first thought as you read it... So what was it? I know mine was as I wrote it. “Ugh.” Complete with eye roll. The next thought was guilt. Followed by several other quick thoughts, not all of them bad. Some were quite nice. It’s a sad season for a lot of people. Even the ones who put on a good face or manage to forget their sadness for brief periods of time when distracted by shinier things or bigger hugs. It takes an effort to get into the spirit sometimes. And then we feel guilty for letting others down for not being joyful, joyful on demand. I’d be willing to bet that it’s a very rare person who feels fully engaged, prepared, and ready to get joyous. We have a complicated relationship with holidays and the way we often choose to spend them. Stressed for one reason or a...

Maybe it’s the Internet’s fault. Perhaps it’s the unintended consequences of the Information Age. Has it made us afraid of in-person connection? Have we learned too much about our own darkness? Too late now, I guess. Well, good. Let’s get over it together. This poke-in-the-eye we call our present socio-political culture is a really tough pill. Sometimes I even have to turn off the news for a moment. That was light sarcasm, in case I was vague. Why are we so mesmerized by a train wreck? What is the psychology behind our inability to turn away? I don’t have the answer for that. But I see its effects. The fact is, we’re just plain afraid. Of each other, of ourselves, of the dark. The almighty Google has shown us how deep our pain goes. How many long generations of wounds have been inflicted upon one another? The depth of our karma is staggering. It’s no wonder we retreat now. Or, have found ourselves to be among the retreated-from. We feel as if the world has abandoned us. Ever...

This message may start out on a dark note but it sings better toward the end. I promise. It’s no wonder we look around at the problems we face with dread. Gun violence, hatred, disease, fear. There are those in this world who still believe there is more profit to be had from chaos than order. They still think war is better for business than peace. Maybe it is, for them. They do their best to keep it that way because they know they will be the ones who stand to lose if things change. The uncomfortable truth is, no matter how many times we try to put out these fires, they will only ever grow. The opioid epidemic, homelessness, violence. No matter what we do, these are not problems we will solve, cure, arrest or legislate our way out of. Ever. We have virtually no control over them whatsoever. Try to come to terms with that. As well, acknowledge the following: When we reconcile ourselves to the fact that these problems are not the problem, but indicators of deeper, yet simpler, iss...

Dipping sauce is the secret to longevity. It’s true! Condiments of all kinds are really where it’s at. They’re like the holy spirit of all food. The sacred catalyst which binds them. Makes it tasty. Brings out the richness. The fullness of the experience. The variety. I prefer a selection with my burger and fries. Of course one can overdo it. My mother used to say to me, “Would you like some ketchup with your ketchup?” And it was a rare shirt in my closet that went without a mustard stain until I was in my twenties. My father was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for a while when he was in the Air Force. Most of his father-to-son stories about the past were set there. I feel sometimes as if I’d been there once myself. I sense a connection to it in a way that makes me confident I’ll one day go. They really know how to live life there. In fact, they have the oldest life expectancy in the world. A record in slight decline only recently due to Westernization. The Okinawan diet does not...

Gathering Words I’d like you to find your heartbeat. Find it through your pulse on your neck or your wrist, find it by placing your hand on your chest. Recognize that your heart is a gong which rings throughout the universe. Think of this as we proceed through our time together. Food for Thought: The Purpose of Hymns I’d like to ask you a question: What is the purpose of singing in church? It appears to be pretty important since we do it three times in an hour. Why? Have you ever wondered? It’s okay if you haven’t. Wonder now. Why do we sing together? What purpose does it serve? And why do we sing mostly old hymns instead of mostly new ones? In 2013, a university in Sweden did a study that helps answer a few of these questions. They found, without exception, that when a group of people sing in unison two things happen. One, their heart rates immediately slow down. This is due to the physical act of singing itself. It requires a rhythmic deep breathing with slow exhalations....

    While I am decidedly not a fan of horror films, I do have a few exceptions. Wes Craven’s 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of them. Added to that are a few ghost stories here and there when they have particularly good story lines. But most prominently on the list sits William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist.  I remember one line from the film in particular. “Especially important is the warning to avoid conversations with the demon.” The experienced exorcist, Father Merrin, played by Max von Sydow, warns the film’s protagonist not to engage the beast. No good will ever come of it. The devil lies and will ensnare you with it.     It wasn’t a personal belief in the existence of a devil which made me notice this line in particular, for I do not. Instinctively I felt that there was more to this thought than just a caution for religious exorcists. It’s particularly good advice in the broader sense.. To my way of thinking, ...