In a video course about mindfulness meditation that I've been watching, there is a segment that discusses the importance of compassion, even and especially toward those for whom we feel antipathy, aversion, and even enmity. The simple practice is suggested of saying to oneself, when inconvenienced or annoyed by someone: "Just like me." That lady … Continue reading Just like me
What is it really that we should write in our hearts — the feeling that we may have on this Christmas night? In this Christmas night there should pour into our hearts the fundamental human feeling of love, the fundamental feeling that says: compared with all other forces and powers and treasures of the world, … Continue reading The greatest power
Last month, I spent some time hiking with my family in the mountains near Thun. This is the "Bernese Oberland" region, gateway to the Alps. We took a funicular up to the Niederhorn (Switzerland is full of such conveniences) and hiked along a ridge for a few hours. The views were magnificent; we could see … Continue reading Peak experience
Life in Switzerland does require some adjustments. For example, there are things one routinely finds in the grocery store here that one does not in the States, some more welcome than others: Quince Venison Quark Chestnut paste 8 zillion kinds of chocolate bars And there are the things one doesn't find, and that I miss: … Continue reading Other tongues
Here's an essay that was originally published in LILIPOH. It's also included in a new edition of my little book Simply Sourdough, which is now being printed and sold by the Waldorf Early Chidhood Association of North America. I've turned over all the profits to WECAN in appreciation of their important work on behalf of … Continue reading Baking day
As I've been going through long-ignored documents and books, I've found some interesting messages from my past self. My high school yearbook quote, for example: Remember that the Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass. Some never come to be, unless those that behold the visions turn aside from their … Continue reading Wise words from myself
When I feel attacked, I don't want to feed the other person' negativity by adding in my own anger and hostility. That means I need to forgive. But how can this be rightfully done, when I feel truly threatened? It doesn't seem correct to "forgive" a hurtful act in the sense of saying it wasn't … Continue reading As we forgive
Preparing for an international move is quite a process. For much of my life before I got married I was a student, and moved to a different temporary residence every few years. I was used to living out of a suitcase and discarding or storing whatever didn't fit into a single room. But since setting … Continue reading Letting go
Suppose you had never known anything but winter, never known the trees and shrubs around you as anything other than smooth, bare branches. Then suddenly one day they were covered with a sickly greenish sort of excrescence, that grew and spread until it completely obscured the familiar structure you were used to. Wouldn't it be … Continue reading It’s not the end of the world
Last year, my life fell apart. Or exploded. It was all up in the air for a while, anyway, and I didn't know where it would come down. It was a good opportunity to try to practice inner peace, because there wasn't much of it outwardly. I realized that this is the only security we … Continue reading A new life
