A Beacon of Light

“Maybe that’s the best part of going away for a vacation — coming home again.”  ~ Madeleine L’Engle A week in the Bahamas. My time there was restful, a bit stressful, memorable, enjoyable, and essential. To wake up each morning and see the spectacular colors of the waters of Nassau Harbor from my hotel window was invigorating.…

“Perhaps some detours aren’t detours at all.Perhaps they are actually the path.”Katherine Wolf When I walked out of my sixth period class at St. Lawrence Academy in Santa Clara on the last day of school in 2015, I thought it would be my last day in the classroom as a teacher. Little did I know…

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson In August 1975, as I was preparing to leave the Bahamas and return home after teaching for a year at St. Augustine’s College in Nassau, one of the goodbyes to my Bahamian friends included this brief, but unforgettable verbal exchange: “I’m hoping to come back to…

“To lose patienceis to lose the battle.”~ Gandhi First of all, I’m not looking for any battles. I’ve made that mistake before. In my younger days, patience was not a virtue for which I was known. As I’ve aged, however, it has become one of my strengths. I’m writing this post from the waiting area…

“You aren’t wealthyuntil you have somethingmoney can’t buy.”~ Garth Brooks I don’t recall when or where I learned this, but the quote “You can’t take it with you” is spot-on. No matter how much material wealth we accumulate in our lifetime, when our life comes to an end, all those possessions stay here. A humbling…

Sometimes, all we have to do is show up. Be there. We may not know exactly what to say, nor what to do, so there can be a bit of awkwardness to the experience. In fact, in most cases, we don’t have to say or do anything at all. What’s important is that we make…

As the Bay Area gets pounded with yet another atmospheric river, I find myself sitting at my desk in my home office writing about why I’m awake at midnight. The wind is howling outside, and a significant amount of water is flowing off the rooftop and down through the rainspout on the other side of…

“Nobody waves,but almost everybodywaves back.”Nicholas Epley In the introduction to my most recent book, The Ambassador of 38th Avenue, I mentioned that the title was given to me by one of my elderly childhood neighbors, Mr. Sam Young, when I was about ten years old. I was an outgoing kid, and I had a habit…

One of the most basic challenges for every human person is to identify the purpose of our life. Why am I here? What am I supposed to do? How might I make a positive difference in the world? The diagram above provides an excellent resource for those engaged in this task. It’s not an image…

“For it is in givingthat we receive.” Francis of Assisi  It was one of the sweetest experiences of my life. It was my 68th birthday, June 4, 2022. Our kids and their families came over for a barbecue. Tom, Steve, and Brendan did all the cooking. As is so often the case these days, the food…