First night at RLLS (Russell Lockwood Leadership School) tonight; we met, did introductions, an ice-breaker name game where everyone added an adjective to their name (there are almost 40 participants so that took a while and was much, much harder than it sounds), broke down into Covenant Groups then back…
Pioneers of Freedom
I read an interesting quote today about Prop 8 from its proponents, Protect Marriage (actually their counsel said this): “For our opponents to say, as they have repeatedly, that there is no rational reason for limiting marriage to a man and a woman except for animus and bigotry is to…
Is Everything Possible?
One of my favorite songs is “Everything Possible” by Fred Small. Of course, we cannot be certain what an artist means by the lyrics of a song, I think that is part of the magic; a good song speaks to each of us as individuals. This past June, I had…
Liberty and Ben’s Chili Bowl
As I think about the principles of our country today, I find challenge in the bipartisan nature of modern politics…we seem to no longer stand for the principle of liberty for all, but for liberty of those who are like unto us. Our founders were not of one faith, but…
Roses and Dust
I haven’t posted for a week because last week was a very interesting week. The world lost a capable, beautiful young kung-fu student, and I was best man in my dear friends wedding. Interesting contrasts that made me think deeply. I wanted to post, but it took until now to…
Letting Go…
Yesterday I was at church and it was open mic sharing about letting go; things we are working to let go. As I listened there were several of us who spoke about letting go of expectations for family; parents who were working to let go of expectations for the kids,…
The Power of the Moment Sermon
In 2008 I had a life-altering injury. I fell, broke my neck and damaged my spine. The paralysis extended from my mid-rib area through all 4 limbs. Possibly the most devastating thing about the injury was that there was absolutely nothing that could tell me whether I would walk again,…
Quick, Simple Heart-Felt Meditation
I was just practicing this as I waited for my wife to get ready to head to the gym (we are trying this new morning workout thing). I had turned off the audio book (for once) and was just sitting with the dog… I got this from a Sufi book…
Appreciative Relations Sermon
In August 2009 I gave a short sermon on appreciating our relationships with one-another. I sought to remind myself and many others of why we engage in our covenants in our Unitarian Universalist faith, to reflect upon how we can sustain our values and principles in our every day relationships.…
A Glimpse into Another World
So I was thinking this Sunday about what its like to really get a glimpse into the life of another human being; seems like we walk around our lives living in our own world. Our thoughts, feelings, and history coloring what we see, to the point where I think its…