Scottish poet Robert Burns, ploughing his field, accidentally destroyed the nest that a mouse had carefully prepared in anticipation of winter. Reflecting, Burns left us the well-known phrase “best-laid plans”: You saw the fields laid bare and empty, and weary winter...
Dear Friends, This pandemic has made me more aware than ever before that I have little control over the most important things in life. I can’t keep my loved ones safe. I’m not in charge of the world. So, I’m learning to surrender to this lack of control and find...
Dear Friends, It has been said that an optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in, while a pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. If you were beat up by 2020, I can understand if you and those around you are anxious to see it go. I love a...
Recently someone asked me the question, “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” That question gave me pause, as it seems a bit of a challenge to embrace new experiences within the limitations of our world today. The ideas that come to my mind...
Dear Friends, A new genre of humor is emerging: jokes about 2020. I recently heard someone say they were not turning their clocks back “because no one wants an extra hour of this year.” I am not surprised that people want 2020 to be over. But, I do wonder why they...
Dear Friends, These days, I’ve been thinking about things I need to spend more time considering. Thomas Hobbes famously suggested that life is “poor, nasty brutish and short.” One might assume he is speaking from the context we find ourselves in today. Yet, most of us...