“Do you have faith?” We were sitting in a cafe for lunch today, talking about the world and our place in it. A generation apart, she came to Washington a few years ago, and works on international human rights questions, … more
Yesterday I spoke at Friends University in Wichita, a school in the Quaker tradition. A glorious building was imagined, and then brought into being in the late 19th-century to house this hope for educating the next generation of “Friends,” as … more
“Here am I, O God, of little power and mean estate, yet lifting up heart and voice to Thee before whom all created things are as dust and vapor. Thou art hidden behind the curtain of sense, incomprehensible in Thy … more
“The devil laughs because God’s world seems senseless to him; the angels laugh with joy because everything in God’s world has its meaning.” When I first read those words, I was struck by their hard-won wisdom. Milan Kundera, one of … more
“I have a question.” These last few days I have been walking among the aspens of southwestern Colorado, just south of Pagosa Springs, not so far from the New Mexico border, listening to the questions of students who have taken … more
The Beach Boys… the Beatles… and Bono. For a few days this week I was close enough to the Pacific Ocean to bike along the beach. Watching the sunrise, the quiet of the morning, a travel mug with Earl Grey … more
They call it the city of steeples and spires for good reason…. so beautiful and so historic, it has always felt like one should think about things that matter while walking the streets of Oxford. Today for example. While I … more
Walk into the office, ask my supervisor how I can help today, get a long list of tasks ranging from papers to file, emails to return, excel spreadsheets to create, and then after a few minutes of small talk, go … more
Meant to be. Supposed to be. Ought to be. In the culture of whatever, those are contentious words. Sometimes and some places they are fighting words. “How would you possibly know? No one knows. And anyone who thinks they do … more
All Hallow’s Eve, and cooking pots too. Over the last few days I have been in Madison, WI, and was wonderfully hosted by some of the best people. From Thursday night through Sunday morning, we kept busy, engaged with many … more