Recently I had a couple super hard conversations. Without going into details that aren’t mine to share, they were the kind that you know in advance could go super sideways. Know what I mean? Want to guess what the most stressful, angsty, and worst part of both was? The pre-conversation dread and fear of the … Continue reading The Good News of Realizing I’m My Worst Enemy
I was lost, lonely, empty, and confused for a stretch of time during, and after my second divorce. I didn’t know why she’d picked that path, and couldn’t make sense of it. Reflecting deeply on my part and how I could learn and grow from it, though, was what brought me back to “life”, so … Continue reading Flourishing Through Life’s Hardships
Today is my 12th rebirth day; as on 11/10/08 I should have died after a nightmarish chain of events led to me plummeting 30 feet off a cliff, headfirst onto a boulder. While I'm always hesitant to share this, "don't be boastful" says a voice in my head, I decided to anyway. 🙂 Aside from "12" … Continue reading Celebrating Life: The 12th Anniversary of the Day I Should Have Died
We watched "The Princess Bride" with my daughter the other day, and I was struck by the wisdom of a famous line from Westley to Buttercup: "Life is pain, highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something." When I avoid uncomfortable feelings inside me, awkward conversations with my wife, disagreeing with friends, and so on, I … Continue reading Growing More Awesome by Going Into the Awkward/Uncomfortable
I believe we're in a sacred, powerful, and beautiful moment of collective transformation now. As tragic as the Coronavirus pandemic is, it's gift can be exponentially more beneficial. I say this sincerely and confidently because each time I've walked the road of soul-shivering suffering, be it a divorce that shook my beliefs and world view, an accident that … Continue reading Suffering’s Gift
Cheers! Even though it's been nearly seven years and I'm incredibly happily remarried, I still sometimes feel DEEPLY hurt by and confused why my second wife left me. By the conventional wisdom that good deeds are rewarded and bad punished, we'd have stayed together. What's more, it's the same story if one went by my … Continue reading Faith, Hope, and Love for NO Reason
What do you and I do with suffering? There is SO MUCH hurt, fear, and pain in the world. Even when my family, friends, and I are doing great, watching the news, reading the headlines, and so on brings me face to face with sorrow. It's unavoidable. My bias is to ignore it, make a … Continue reading Meditation on Transforming Suffering Into Sweetness
In a world of tension and breakdown, it is necessary for there to be those who seek to integrate their inner-lives not by avoiding anguish and running away from problems, but by facing them in their naked reality in their ordinariness. - Thomas Merton We had a saying in the Air Force that’s stuck … Continue reading “Embrace the Suck”: How Learning How to Smile at the Suffering in Life is Essential for Being Whole, Healthy, and Vibrantly Alive
LIFE IS HARD. I think we all realize this sooner or later with death, abuse, loss, unemployment, miscarriage, severe illness, addiction, and so on. On this topic, author and spiritual sage Richard Rohr observes: "The Buddha said again and again, 'I teach only suffering and the transformation of suffering.' As I often say: If you do not transform … Continue reading Meditation on Transforming Our Suffering: Becoming Better Instead of Bitter
Grace and Peace Yoga 