My wife and I are the proud parents of three outstanding young men. Our two oldest sons, adopted as babies, now serve in the United States military. Our youngest, a definitive genetic-match that neither of us can deny, is a rising high school senior. The three share no common DNA, yet all three are brothers… … Read More
KEEPING
KEEPING THE FAITH: Freedom shouldn’t come at others’ harm
Freedom: It’s the quintessential American theme, celebrated coast to coast this Fourth of July weekend. A word always emphasized to be sure, but as a concept, freedom is not nearly as well understood — or enjoyed. In fact, what we often call freedom is selfishness, a far cry from the ideal of independence or liberty.One… … Read More
KEEPING THE FAITH: Path to healing is paved with necessary suffering
Last summer I had a major surgery to repair my left wrist and elbow. My personal anatomy, sports injuries from my youth, and the wear and tear of midlife finally conspired to take away my ability to play guitar, type on a keyboard, or to even raise a cup of coffee from the counter.My orthopedic… … Read More
KEEPING THE FAITH; You can’t change the past; change the future
There is an unanswered question in our country, one asked when violence first entered human society. Initially put to Cain just outside the Garden of Eden, God inquired: “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground!” That question is now put to us. And by “us” I mean me,… … Read More
KEEPING THE FAITH: How can a person live a life of purpose?
“Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” So says the author of the book of Ecclesiastes, and not just once. Of the five dozen times this phrase of futility is used within the corpus of the Jewish Scriptures, the writer of Ecclesiastes employs it half of those times.Pleasure, success, money, dreams of a better life: All of… … Read More
KEEPING THE FAITH: What remains after all evil is unleashed?
Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity. As some Greek traditions go, he also gifted mortals with the tools of civilization: Mathematics, art, science, and medicine. Zeus, creation’s overlord, declared Prometheus’ empowerment of humankind an unforgivable sin. Two terrible things happened as a result.First, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock where… … Read More
KEEPING THE FAITH: The great unmasking
“When somebody’s wearing a mask, he’s gonna tell you the truth,” said the legendary Bob Dylan. “But when he’s not wearing a mask, truth is highly unlikely.” Oscar Wilde, one of Dylan’s many inspirations, said the same thing: “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he… … Read More
KEEPING THE FAITH: Seven to one to stay level
Our brains function with what is called “negative bias.” This means that our predisposition, likely an ancient survival mechanism, is to focus on what is wrong instead of what is right.We remember painful experiences far quicker than favorable ones. We react far more strongly to bad news than good news. We dwell on the negative… … Read More