the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers were a group of 3rd century hermit monks living an ascetic life in the deserts of Egypt. Their wisdom continues to help those seeking a spiritual life. In the beginning, there is struggle and a lot of work for those who come near to God. But after that there…
a Zen Buddhist story There was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically. “Maybe,” the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses….
“Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young…”
– Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
a Zen story During a time of civil war in Korea, a certain general led his troops through province after province, overrunning whatever stood in his path. The people in one town, knowing that he was coming and having heard tales of his cruelty, all fled into the mountains. The general arrived in the empty…
“…crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade…” – Alcoholics Anonymous
I knew that feeling well.
a sport that celebrates our imperfection Baseball teaches us, or has taught most of us, how to deal with failure. We learn at a very young age that failure is the norm in baseball and, precisely because we have failed, we hold in high regard those who fail less ofien-those who hit safely in one…
