News & Articles

What A Bird Taught Me

Just as the sky was brightening one morning last week, I was awakened by a songbird outside the window.  The song was captivating, and I continued to listen, expecting to hear another bird respond.  But there was no response, and the songbird continued to give a solo performance.  My first thought was that if I…

Come Let Us Reason Together

“Come, let us reason together,” says the Lord. Although this is an ancient passage, from theeighth-century BCE Hebrew prophet Isaiah, the simple phrase seems particularly apropos this week inAmerica’s political life as we watch Donald Trump being arraigned again. But before we focus on Trump, let’s think a bit more about the wisdom found in…

Confronting Cancer

As a cancer survivor, I know that one of the sweetest phrases in the English language is “The good news is that we caught this early.” But hearing this phrase from an oncologist isn’t the end of the story. Rather, the “good news” is just the beginning. We’d all be alarmed if a friend who…

What’s The Hurry?

Readers will have some sense of my age when I share that I can remember seeing the great Boston Celtic guard Bob Cousy “dribble out the clock.” Cousy was short, but he used his lack of height as an advantage as he led defenders on a merry chase for minutes—yes, minutes—to run out the clock.…

Rain and Road Rage

One of the many valuable and practical lessons that the Buddha taught is that our mindsroutinely misperceive what is right in front of us. That might sound like the problem is with our senses,particularly our eyes, but that’s not the case. The problem lies in our tendency to process what we’reexperiencing incorrectly, and that leads…

Mourning and Memory

Mourning the death of someone whom one has loved can take many forms.  Take the recent passing of the songwriter and singer Gordon Lightfoot.  Some of us who love Lightfoot’s many songs and the unique quality of his voice will find it too painful to listen for a while to even one of his creations. …