InSpiritry

 Gold!   Silver!  Bronze! 

Weren’t the Olympics amazing? Can we ever forget watching Michael Phelps finish race after race, breaking records and winning gold? And what about the amazing performances of American and international athletes in women’s gymnastics, track and field and the many team sports? In front of our televisions and in Bejing, we rooted for predestined heroes and little known underdogs. Across the country and around the world, for two weeks, young and old, rich and poor, Western and Eastern, women and men and children gathered to share in the triumphs and tragedies of sports at the highest level.

Best of all, as we watched, we allowed ourselves to join the world community, to care about athletes we had never met. From the opening ceremonies where light and sound and human movement became cultural art to the closing ceremonies with its fantastic celebration of humanity, we experienced each other. We looked into faces from other places and saw ourselves. At the Olympics, there was no discussion of border disputes or international deadlines or imperialistic invasions. No accusations or prejudices or threats. Wasn’t it wonderful?!

A commentator on NBC may have best described the possibilities inherent in this momentary peace:

If we can do for two weeks, why not three and then four…

Now with the Olympics behind us, we in America have two more television events this next month to draw our collective attention and inspire us: the Democratic and Republican conventions. The Democrats began last night with heart-lifting speeches by Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Michelle Obama, and then again tonight as Hillary thrilled the crowd. As we leaned in to listen, each of them told us their American story and asked us to envision our most passionate dreams for this country. In the coming days, others will do the same in their own personal ways both in Denver and later in Minneapolis.

I don’t know your political leanings, but whatever you believe, this is a great time to continue to build on the patriotic inspiration we felt during the Olympics. Remembering the amazing athletes we watched in Bejing, I would ask you to put aside cynicism and listen, really listen to the speakers we will hear at each of the conventions. Set aside disgust for those who disagree with you. Embrace those who offer their commitment to this country. Let yourself be inspired to believe in the future. Remember those moments during the Olympics when your heart pounded with hope for the athletes, and bring that sense of excitement to your television viewing of our political conventions as we journey toward the Greater Good for America.

When we allow ourselves to be inspired about our politics, we can be a blessing!

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Peace and Love! Peace and Love! Peace and Love!

Ringo Starr

For some of us, these words are a familiar slogan from the 1960s. For others they are exactly the message the world needs to hear. For a few, Peace and Love is a tired cliche’. Whatever your first impression is, these simple words speak of what so many of us hope for in our lives: safety, harmony, nonviolence, compassion and acceptance. Peace. Our religions seek to instill it, our governments try to provide it, our politicians orate about it…and still is seems like a distant dream. (more…)

April was National Poetry Month, and what a heart-warming celebration the past few weeks have been for me:

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Don’t ask what the world needs.

Ask what makes you come alive, and do that…

because what the world needs

is people who have come alive!               

Howard Thurman (1900-1981)

Howard Thurman was an author, philosopher, theologian and educator, who after meeting Mahatma Gandhi became passionate about the ideas he heard from the great spiritual leader. Back in America, he went on to work for civil rights and to write about non-violence in words that informed Martin Luther King’s thinking and inspired other civil rights leaders of the mid-century.

As we make our resolutions for the New Year, plan our futures and even consider the politics of American presidential race, Thurman’s suggestion about doing what makes “you come alive” may be just what we need to hear! Many of us lead lives that, while addressing the needs of the world, can feel…well, uninspired. How can we change that in 2008? (more…)

Sleep in Heavenly Peace…

During this last week of the Christian Advent season and near the end of another violent year in the world, true Peace deserves our consideration more than ever. That said, for spiritual people of all traditions at any time of the year, there is no greater hope and no more essential calling than Peace. It is our most pure path to God.

But what is Peace? (more…)

ONLY 7 MORE SHOPPING DAYS LEFT TO CHRISTMAS! 

As if Americans needed any more encouragement to  spend money we don’t have, television commercials and retail signs are reminding us that the annual holiday shopping deadline is quickly approaching. Stores are full of people desperately searching for “the perfect gift” for Christmas or Hanukkah. Some are shopping for family members, others for dear friends, others for bosses or coworkers and still others for those hard-to-buy-for folks saved until the last minute.

In the interest of preventing desperate choices like votive candle holders and purple sweaters, I thought I might offer an InSpiritry list of gift ideas for those who want to give something really special, things that affirm the recipient in ways a store bought item sometimes fails to do–gifts of inspiration! (more…)

“…a little child shall lead them”

Meet Laura.

Laura is a ten year old American girl who is ready to lead. With a belief in every person’s power to make the world a better place, Laura has launched a December, 2007 project called Twenty Five Days to Make a Difference. For those whose faith experience includes a season of Advent as well as those who just love Christmas, Laura is giving us a new approach to the holidays. How? (more…)

In several conversations of late, I have been reminded of how overpowering the world’s problems seem to most of us. We would like things to be better, but global situations like terrorist threats, war, extreme poverty, religious persecution, human rights and famine seem, well…just too global!

Maybe there’s our answer. We keep our perspective at a global level. What if we reduce the world’s terrible dilemmas to personal proportions — to our everyday lives? Maybe then, we can see that we really can “make a difference.” (more…)

A Noose!?!

After years of being locked away as a relic of American heartlessness, the reality of a rope knotted into a noose is back! First, during the Jena Six case and now at another American high school where its barbarous symbolism is being used for intimidation. It is nothing short of heart-breaking for me. (more…)

What Is the Idea That Is America?

That is exactly the question considered by author and pre-eminent foreign affairs expert Anne-Marie Slaughter in her new book, The Idea That Is America, whose title is based on a comment made by an Army Captain back from Iraq. Slaughter is Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and someone who writes and speaks extensively about foreign policy theory. (more…)