Category: Meditations

As train tracks stretch into the distance they appear to converge. We know the two sides of a track are always at an even distance, but our eyes tell us that the farther they are away, the closer they are together. Even what we “know” from the evidence of our own eyes isn’t necessarily true. Perhaps what we “know” about other people—that they are unkind or selfish or unfair— might be as much a function of our perception as their reality.

How might you see someone who bothers you in a different light?

Dr. King said that we are “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,” and many of us identify with the Interdependent Web as an image of the complex web of relationships which encompasses all beings. But many of our relationships depend on the tangible web of wires which make possible our connections via phone and internet. And these wires only continue to connect us if they are tended and maintained.

What will you do today to tend to some connection that matters to you?

Life always seems to feel like a tricky balancing act. Most of us carry on our heads the competing needs of our work and our family, our parents and our children, our communities and our own personal needs. The trickiest part of all is to come at the whole task with good humor and delight in the day.

How will you find a moment of joyful balance today?

In the pages of a book our imagination meets the imagination of the author, and page by page something new is created in the space between two people who will most likely never meet. How’s that for a miracle?

What have you discovered lately between the pages of a book (or e-reader)?

An armed Coast Guard patrols the waters around Lady Liberty, watching diligently to prevent those who might do her (and her admirers) harm. Yet, Lady Liberty herself stands as a beacon of inclusion, declaring that even “wretched refuse” are welcome.

How are we to balance our impulse to defend against those we don’t trust with our desire to be as broadly inclusive and welcoming as possible?