Recent Stories
What moves you?
We only find ourselves when we lose ourselves in service to something that transcends us.
The DIY spiritual practice
A spiritual practice my wife and I cobbled together.
What do you need a potion for?
Maybe I went too far mixing V8 and Pop Rocks, but life isn't always sweet.
Cricket's song shows life's fragility
There is a cricket playing the violin in my bathroom.
From mother to gypsy
Saying goodbye to the home where I raised my children.
Finding relief in the storm
The complexity of asking for, and offering, help.
The love truck
The Karma Fairy is laughing her head off at the SUV in my driveway.
Laying claim to my own blackness
Being an Afro-American is a diverse experience that resists simple characterizations.
Flat tire and a beating heart
A heartbeat is one thing you want to do like everyone else.
Hold on: The wisdom of endurance
Suffering and anxiety are usually just as finite and
time-limited as high passion and unalloyed joy.
The devil and Martha Stewart
Don’t give in to the voice that fuels the fires of perfectionism—especially here at the holidays.
The ghosts of Unitarian Christmas
'A Christmas Carol,' updated.
Do you have just enough anxiety?
Anxiety can be a major source of energy in our lives and our organizations.
Assembly of a lesser god
Belief and worship are powerful tools for organizing thought and behavior. If others get control of those tools, they can make us dance like puppets. But if we’re careful, we can learn to pull our own strings.
Can spirituality help at work?
Spirituality is packaged as if it's a pep pill for overworked managers.
The avatar's advantage
Cast your goals in mythic terms to make a lasting difference.
PostSecret Project reveals our common humanity
People keep secrets for all kinds of reasons.
The call of self
Finding my path when the choices I made in my twenties didn't work out.
The stages of rest
Four stages of burnout and recovery as the church year draws to a close.
Ceremonies for everyday life
Establishing connections with self, family, and the earth.
Do you feel loved?
On alternating days, a resolution to stop beating myself up.
Sketches of Crete
A sense of humor builds a bridge across cultures.
Rekindling the flame
Tickets to the Keith Urban concert weren't just a gift. They were a miracle.
Sitting between the extremes
Why a journalist writes haiku.
The floating life
Going with the flow sounds nice, until the river tries to kill you.
Confessions of a prodigal volunteer
Life after burning out at church.
The death of li'l Anthrax
A more vicious little creature you could hardly imagine.
Love the contradictions
The world needs people who can love it in its contradiction and complexity.
Reading our lives
Take time to read the story of your life.
Unitarian Universalists on the Eightfold Path
Buddhism puts down roots in American congregations.
Stick your neck out
How you can make a difference.
Fortune cookies for the soul
If I owned a fortune cookie company.
We are what we eat
Michael Pollan's 'Omnivore's Dilemma' challenges our eating habits.
Poem for an inked daughter
A mother reaches across the generations.
Why I am fasting for Ramadan
A Unitarian Universalist embraces a month-long discipline of letting go.
Can Unitarian Universalists talk about failure?
Original Sin isn't a good idea. Expecting perfection isn't, either.
Spiritual lessons from running
Ten spiritual lessons that running has taught me.
Was Thomas Jefferson really a Unitarian?
What makes someone 'one of us'?
A religion of exile and personal choice
Unitarian Universalists aren't strangers to exile.
Reconciliation as a spiritual discipline
In our own souls, between individuals, within groups, and between groups.
Resetting the worry alarm
Psychologically and spiritually, we don't have to live in Code Orange.
Winter mind
Emptiness, like silence, like love, is indeed a gift.
Living at the edge
By living in the present moment, we can find ourselves at the gateway to eternity.
