I have recently been having trouble keeping track of my glasses. Just before I went for a personal retreat to Christ in the Desert in mid-March, I remember choosing to take my plastic frames and to leave the metal ones at home. Haven’t seen the metal frames since. I’ve turned the house upside down, no joy. Then, after a trip to Texas, I couldn’t find my prescription sunglasses. This is a hassle because I cannot read the GPS in the car without them. We did a wonderful roa

Hands knead the sprained flesh where rib number five has worked itself out of line and out of order. Ugh. Getting a massage used to be more pleasure and less work. Breathe in . . . breathe out . . . breathe through . . . The massage therapist continues along, digging out the past trapped in my body, like an archaeologist mapping a new site. Left knee cap – Cracked in 1982 while running upstairs to the light booth in Hammond Hall at Rice. Coccyx – Shattered by fall down a mar

On a personal note: I never intended to become an actual blogger who got comments from folks beyond my normal sphere of activity. I really appreciate all the wonderful discussion that continues to take place concerning my first “off -the-cuff” piece about the San Francisco Symphony strike. I am especially moved to hear from classical musicians around the world who are hopeful that their San Francisco colleagues can prevail in this situation. Still, my crackpot theory is t

Happiness depends, as Nature shows, less on exterior things than most suppose. – William Cowper (1731-1800) English poet and hymnodist I never cease to marvel at human diversity when it comes to happiness and suffering. Despite all contrary indications, some of the happiest people I have ever met had little “reason” to be happy. Ironically, some of the most miserable folks I have ever met had the most going for them. It is also true that two children raised in the same fam

I will light Candles this Christmas; Candles of joy despite all sadness, Candles of hope where despair keeps watch, Candles of courage for fears ever present, Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days, Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens, Candles of love to inspire all my living, Candles that will burn all the year long. – Howard Thurman, (1899-1981) author, philosopher, pastor As humans, we have an ancient relationship of love and fear when it comes to fire. Fire is

Today is the feast day for St. John of the Cross – one of the great mystics of the Christian tradition. The mystical tradition has been of great help to me in my journey of faith. Even if you haven’t read much of John’s poetry, you may have heard the phrase, “dark night of the soul”. Thomas Merton writes of John: No one can become a saint without solving the problem of suffering. No one who has ever written anything, outside the pages of Scripture, has given us such a solut

Like most Americans, I don’t really like to wait. Not in line, not in traffic, not really for anything. And waiting to get on the freeway, or into a movie, or for coffee in my favorite bistro really is sort of pointless. When the waiting is done, the payoff is pretty small. Unfortunately, my lack of being able to wait for small things makes me unable to wait comfortably for the big things such as insight and wisdom, courage and reason. Until I can let go of my desire for