Spirit Day 2020 -Tolerance and Compassion

“…tolerance is something that is intolerant of intolerance. You can’t be tolerant towards everything, otherwise that means it is fine for people to be bigoted.” ― Presh Talwalkar, 40 Paradoxes in Logic, Probability, and Game Theory Spirit day is a day of tolerance. It’s a day to learn about and encompass what may be strange […]

Sunday Morning

It’s strange, as I sit outside and listened to my favorite Sunday morning music (black gospel), I am so open-ended about the structure of my faith. I’m not conflicted or disturbed, I’m just interested in the anomalies of it all. I have profound faith. I’ve written about it before here. But of what is that […]

Serving Gratitude

May the gratitude in my heart Kiss all the universe. ~ Hafiz “No one is as capable of gratitude as one who has emerged from the kingdom of night.” ~Elie Wiesel “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is […]

The Birthday

I acknowledge the loss… I wrote this in 2012. I wish I could say it was a unique occurrence or even the last of its kind. But alas… I am trying to do my part in understanding and eradicating racism. But then again, what is my part? It’s hard to know and recognize my own […]

I acknowledge the loss…

Republished on what would have been Trayvon’s 24th birthday. …of a young man in Florida. When I read this boy’s name, one among thousands of young black men who have died for the wrong reasons, I am overwhelmed by grief and shame. The grief is for myself and every other parent and grandparent who cannot […]

4th of July

I woke up feeling a little gritchy* about this holiday. Maybe I can’t put it into words, but for me it seems to be another celebration that is best just thought of as a day to get together and maybe watch a fireworks display. It’s difficult to really remember what I believed about Independence Day […]

Stand Up!

This resolution passed by a narrow margin. The mayor cast the tie-breaking vote. Dear Family, I join all of you in your concern for our nation with its present leadership. And I encourage each and every one of you to do what you can. Here is a part of my statement of support for a […]

Dear Mr. New President

I have good wishes and prayers for you. I hope that you can open your heart and mind to lead this country – this entire country – with grace and humility as well as with strength and wisdom. We are a country who needs change and transformation. I don’t know how, but I hope that […]

Disappointed

This was a post in 2009 but I think it may be appropriate to reprint in these times. I don’t often use the word.  In fact, I have an aversion to the judgmental quality of it.  After all, when it comes to people, isn’t it arrogant to assume that they should perform to my expectations?  […]

A Sad Day

So we just keep doing the work… We keep fighting for the voices of those who would be silenced. We stand for marginalized communities. We speak out against oppression and violence and bullying. We make room for peace and kindness; for all faiths and sexualities and colors and genders. We remember to nurture each other […]