Nothing I am writing right now seems adequate to the moment. I’m not even looking for something dramatic. Just a sense of purpose. Of meaning. Of contributing. I’m struggling with the fact that the world around me feels like it is crashing down, but I am not finding my life overly displaced and am ambivalent … Continue reading Finding Kindness Along the Way (Part 5) How Can I Show Compassion Today?

In the early 70s I attended a small liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon called Lewis and Clark College. A that time, one of the school’s most compelling features was its overseas study program. During my sophomore year in 1973 I participated in the program and was part of a group of 24 students and … Continue reading Finding Kindness Along the Way (Part 4)

In 1984, I took a year off from serving as pastor in Red Bluff to spend a year in further studies on the East Coast. Lena, Anna and I and travelled to New Haven, Connecticut, where I would be in school studying for a specialized Master’s degree. Part of my study was research and writing … Continue reading Finding Kindness Along the Way (Part 3)

In October of 2019 I had the privilege of participating in an event called the Living Legacy Pilgrimage. It was a kind of tour through the Deep South of the United States, visiting historic sites that are significant to the Civil Rights Movement in the nation—think Selma, Montgomery, Rosa Parks, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther … Continue reading Finding Kindness Along the Way (Part 2)

I think I picked a terrible time to start this blog. How can I write about travel when all of us need to stay home? How can I entertain the freedom of movement when so many of us are stuck in place? How can I write about discretionary choices when so many of us are … Continue reading Finding Kindness Along the Way (Part 1)

On Friday, New York Times Columnist and PBS commentator David Brooks wrote an article called “Pandemics Kill Compassion, Too.” In it he remarks, “Some disasters, like hurricanes and earthquakes, can bring people together, but if history is any judge, pandemics generally drive them apart.” This was very sad news to me. I was operating under … Continue reading Are We Not One?

(I wrote this on Tuesday, March 10th. I had no idea all that would happen between then and today. I hope my words are appropriately tentative and wondering. I pray that they don't diminish anyone's pain or disregard anyone's experience. I am still wondering where this will all go.) Today it feels like I am … Continue reading When Travel Stops

A few weeks ago, Lena and I attended a workshop/retreat facilitated by a Scottish man named John Philip Newell. It was called The Memory of the Sacred: Earth, Body and Soul in Celtic Wisdom. Newell walked us through an understanding of Celtic Spirituality and Christianity. It is a spirituality with a number of themes, highlighting … Continue reading Place and the Holy