Henry Miller titled one of his books: “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird.” My hummingbirds have returned for the summer. I watch them with fascination, and they bring delight to my soul. I’m told the wings move up to eighty times per second. I’ve never tried to count…

A little boy was told the nursery rhyme about “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.” The rhyme made him so uneasy that, when a blackbird landed near him in his backyard, he just had to ask: “Are you afraid of getting baked in a pie?” The blackbird laughed and…

There has to be a way for a human being to go on fighting as a person in this world without ever giving up.  I love the words of Paul Simon’s song entitled “The Boxer.”  Part of the lyrics go like this:  “In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade, And…

Ever feel taken for granted, under-appreciated, dis-respected, or even stepped on?  Well, as an old saying goes, “Appreciate yourself or no one else will.”  And to help us on that path…here’s a story. The Mirrors of Meaning A beautiful white-haired woman stands,…

Joy keeps popping up in so many places. Thanks to Marie Kondo it is even key to organizing our houses! She’s big on noticing the things that spark joy in your life. Joy is hard to define, isn’t it? It’s hard to parse its meaning, hard to break down into component…

Seneca, a Stoic philosopher, wrote many years ago: “Let us cultivate our humanity.” I love that idea and have found that it encourages a rewarding depth in relationships. As a boy on a farm in West Virginia, we cultivated fields that before plowing were often covered…

I love this story which I ran across again in Rutger Bregman’s impressive book entitled, “Humankind.”   An old man says to his grandson: “There’s a fight going on inside me. It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is bad—angry, greedy, jealous, arrogant, and…

The fear of punishment and the hope of reward motivates a great deal of human behavior—they are the two buckets. I love the old story of a wise woman and teacher named Rabia, who believed that there was something greater than the two buckets that dominate and oppress…

I like the word “awakening.” It makes me think of new beginnings. Awakening is what we do each morning after a night of sleep. It’s part of the physical experience of every human being. And it’s just as important to experience a new beginning, a new awakening…on the…