A Beacon of Light

“There can be no vulnerability without risk. There can be nocommunity without vulnerability.”M. Scott Peck I could have simply walked on and minded my own business. Most people, I think, would have chosen that option. I didn’t. I noticed something that concerned me — something that posed a risk to the safety of others, so…

“The future isalready here —it’s just notevenly distributed.”William Gibson William Ford Gibson is a 77-year-old speculative fiction writer from South Carolina. His writings suggest that while technological and societal advancements exist in some places today, they have yet to be widely adopted. When people today speak about the future already being here, it seems that…

“Gratitude turns whatwe have into enough.” Aesop It has been almost eight years since the publication of my first book, A Moment’s Pause for Gratitude. This book launched a series of speaking engagements on the topic of gratitude to high school teachers at The Harker School, nurses at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, young adults…

“Who is it that can tell me who I am?”  William Shakespeare Meeting new people is a refreshing, energizing experience for me. I’ve always been outgoing, even at a very young age. Some might recall the title bestowed upon me by my elderly neighbor, Sam Young, when I was about ten years old: The Ambassador…

Okay, so I’ve never done this before. Sitting on Caltrain, on my way to San Francisco yesterday, I made the decision that today’s blog post would be one of photos, rather than words. So here’s my PhotoBlog from my 21,000-step walk around The City. I hope you enjoyed your photo-visit to The City. Contrary to…

“If I had only one moreround to play, I wouldchoose to play itat Pebble Beach.” Jack Nicklaus I had my chance. I had the opportunity to play a round of golf at the storied Pebble Beach Golf Course — for free! My good friend, Yoko Hirakado, owned WISH International, the organization that brokered the cultural exchange…

“Oh, well,… we were tiredof sleeping in andenjoying life anyway.” Jessica Booth First grade. It was the 1960-61 academic year. At Saint Gabriel School in San Francisco, there were three classes of each grade level, with fifty students per class. Teacher’s aides? Heck, no. We had nuns (Sisters of Mercy)! They didn’t need anyone to help…

“When in Rome,live as the Romans do.”Saint Ambrose When Kathy and I visited Rome,… oh, that’s right. We’ve never visited Rome. It’s not that we didn’t have the opportunity. My brother, Tom, is a Jesuit priest who served as a spiritual director in Rome for ten years. Sadly, during those years, we had neither the…

“I’m thankful for serendipitousmoments in my life, wherethings could’ve gonethe other way.” Rick Springfield They can happen anywhere and at any time — those unexplainable moments when things just go “Click!” Being in the right place at the right time, only to experience something good which was unexpected, is one of life’s greatest treasures. It seems…

“The words ‘I love you’make the most beautifulmusic recognized byhuman ears.”Sidney Poitier Let’s take a look back to 52 years ago today. Just a minute before midnight, on Monday, July 9, 1973, the Union Jack was lowered for the last time as the official flag of the Bahamas. When the clock struck midnight, a crowd…