The Persian poet Rumi once said that “the wound is the place where the light gets in.” Musician Leonard Cohen meant much the same in his Anthem lyrics: Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There’s a crack, a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in. The moment we fall...

There is a scene in the movie Shrek where the limbs of the Gingerbread Man are being pulled off one by one. I felt very much like that at one point during my second pilgrimage, the time after Spain. Significant brain fog prevented me from formulating coherent sentences to be read by the public. Writing...

  Change is difficult for all creatures. I’m reminded of that every time I put my dogs in the car. Swapping what we know for something unfamiliar provokes all kinds of anxiety, compounded by the grief of letting go of people, places, and things we’ve come to love and enjoy. Even when we know the...

This is a favorite of mine by Max Ehrmann. It used to hang on the wall of our laundry room and was a reminder of peace growing up. Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with...