Originally called “Sorrow Songs,” they were composed by African slaves whose names we will never know. With hidden stories and meanings, what we call “Spirituals” today are songs of suffering, survival, and hope. How do we survive when the worst happens? Through these songs, faith was transmitted as the stories of the Bible became the …Read More
Category: Spirit
#19: Heart Transplant (Sonja Greene-Smith)
“It is our stories that make us human.” In medical school, I learned all the technical details about heart transplant. I studied the medical criteria that makes you a candidate, the drugs required post-transplant, and the labs and physical symptoms to monitor. Yet, what I did not yet learn were the stories. Those stories came …Read More
Count Your Blessings
Gratitude is a tool that keeps us in the present moment. As we count our blessings, we point our compass towards more joy in life. Here is a contemplative exercise based on Celtic-tradition. As you stand in the center of your life, each of the cardinal directions brings a different blessing. Contemplative Exercise Take out …Read More
For Grief by John O’Donohue
For Grief —by John O’Donohue When you lose someone you love,Your life becomes strange,The ground beneath you becomes fragile,Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;And some dead echo drags your voice downWhere words have no confidenceYour heart has grown heavy with loss;And though this loss has wounded others too,No one knows what has been taken from …Read More
Anne Lamott – 12 things I learned from life and writing
All truth is paradox. Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes – including you. There’s nothing outside of you that will help in any kind of lasting way… Everyone is screwed up, broken, clingy and scared, even the people who seem to have it most together. Chocolate with 75% …Read More
That Ragged Old Flag
Happy Fourth of July! On this Independence Day in America, we honor the flag as a symbol of the country and of freedom. “That Ragged Old Flag!” by Johnny Cash I walked through a county courthouse square. On a park bench an old man was sitting there. I said, “Your old Court House is kinda …Read More
Permission to Leave
“Doc, he’s gone.” Working as a hospitalist, I had a list of patients to see for the week. This was my first day back at the hospital, and so all the patients were new. Joe was on hospice care. The hospice facility was full. From the medical record, I could see that he was comatose. …Read More
Native American Wisdom: “Nature is my teacher.”
“Nature is my teacher.” The Native American teachings rely on observation of Nature—listening to the stories whispered by of the natural world. The outer world reflects our inner world. When I have been in intense times of emotional and spiritual discomfort (depressed, burned out), I look to change everything around me. Start exercising. Change jobs. …Read More
Poem: David Whyte, Give Every Last Thing Away
THE BELL AND THE BLACKBIRD (excerpt) The sound of a bell still reverberating, or a blackbird calling from a corner of a field. Asking you to wake into this life or inviting you deeper to one that waits. Either way takes courage, either way wants you to be nothing but that self that is no …Read More
Prayer of St. Francis
Prayer of St. Francis Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is dispair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much …Read More