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Beginner's Heart

I love clean slates. I love a morning which is unencumbered by the mistakes of yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. The idea that it all begins now, today, this very moment… It’s intoxicating. Just the frame of it — today is clean ~ no baggage ~ the first day of…

It’s the 5th day of Kwanzaa, the day of purpose, if I’m not mistaken. I love the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith). Translated from Swahili — a language chosen for its wide-spread usage across eastern Africa —…

I believe in Santa. He laughs — he’s jolly and dresses in red and he brings presents and candy and joy. He brings presents to the deserving. Often, even when there seems no way for presents to arrive, Santa still comes through. Story after story in American lore tells of the deserving, for whom Santa found…

Today I heard the only argument that could convince me there’s another side to the Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas controversy. As you may know, I’ve come down on the side of Happy Holidays in earlier blogs, more than once. But today one of the very few people who could convince me of anything spoke…

There are good things happening, and as the days continue to lengthen, moving inexorably to year-end, here are a couple that made me smile yesterday and today. First? As I walked through the cutting wind to my classroom the other day, a young man was popping quarters into a meter on the street. “Good move,”…

So once again a so-called Christian family values group (the Florida Family Association) is attempting to use money to trump Constitutional rights. And tolerance… FFA successfully urged home improvement big-box Lowe’s to pull its advertising from the TV show All-American Muslim. Calling the show ‘propoganda,’ FFA basically called all American Muslims a ‘clear & present…

One of my favourite Christmas songs isn’t really about  Christmas. At least,  not just about Christmas… It’s about “I want to buy in to the benevolent,” and “So goes the prayer if for a day peace on earth/ And good will to man…” In other words, it’s about more than one religion, or even one…

Bodhi Day — or Rohatsu, as it’s known in Japan — is the day the Buddha awakens. It’s the day he finds enlightenment, sitting under the pipul tree. December 8th, traditionally. A dear friend asked me the question I’m usually asking: so what? What does Bodhi Day mean? Disclaimer here: I’m not a worshipping kind…

You all who read this blog may well be tired of hearing about my wonderful students. So you may want to get up and go get a cup of tea; come back in a few paragraphs. Because this is another awed look at the fact that I am paid to learn from the best teachers…

I have a confession: I’m nuts about birds. Bugs too, for that matter, but we’ll stick to birds for now. Specifically, I think any woodpecker is wonderful. Which means our deck is a way station for starving woodpeckers. This one is a ladderback, like the one feeding this morning. But we’ve had red-bellied, red-headed, flickers…
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