Human Relationships

I would rather draw circles around than lines between people. I prefer to look for what unites, rather than what divides us. I strive to find common ground on which diverse people may stand together. That is the daunting task of peacemaking; and we need all the peacemakers we can get, especially with the polarizing […]

Do not underrate the importance of being available to others. Sometimes that may be all you can give or do. You may not be able to heal their maladies, or alleviate their grief over their loss, or bail them out of their financial mess. But you can be available to hear them, to comfort them […]

Every exchange with another person is an opportunity to bring more light into the world. It’s also an opportunity to add to the world’s darkness, doubt, and despair. You don’t know where another has been or where another is going. You cannot ascertain how heavy another’s heart may be, or the burdens another may bear. […]

One moment, one time. That is an expression a teacher used during a tea certification in San Francisco a few years ago. She quoted a Zen Buddhist saying which means roughly, “one event, once only.” What it refers to is the fact that life events are in their way unique, one time only, non-repeatable. She […]

Maturity is difficult to gain and difficult to maintain. We may think we have arrived only to have some unexpected and frustrating life turning show us how immature we can still be. We may be very mature about some things some of the time, and perhaps a few things most of the time, but not […]

The older I get, the more I appreciate children. In a recent conversation about children and parenting, I recalled what I wrote many years ago, which has proven so true in my life. It is titled, simply, “Children”: “You who would understand children, first understand the child in you. Therein lies your link with their […]