Irreplaceable

If life is a zero-sum game, then any gain by another person is our loss—any person moving to the center pushes us aside. Politics tends to promote this world view. We need religion to remind us that none of us is replaceable, that no one’s dignity is diminished when someone else’s dignity is affirmed.

What religious practices help you to remember both your own worth and that of others?

Staying Human

“If you can feel that staying human is worthwhile, even when it can’t have any result whatever, you’ve beaten them.”
― George Orwell

What helps you to stay human when it feels like forces are conspiring against you?

Incensed

Many of us go through life incensed, outraged at a variety of offenses ranging from the horrific to the simply annoying. There is plenty of reason to be incensed. But perhaps it would shift things a bit if now and again we imagined ourselves to be “incensed”—bathed in good smells offered by those who treasure us and desire our well-being.

What practice brings you a sense of serenity or connection?