Aligning with Grace

Sometimes, all we need to do in our lives is to change the narrative... It sounds very simple, yet this is incredibly hard to do... There are moments when things are not quite working in our lives. Our thought patterns hold us captive and our future possibilities lie scattered all around us, truncated at best... Sometimes, we just have to entertain a different way of looking at things, and recently I was reminded of this not once, not twice, but three times... I reflect on the journey of Pope Francis to a land sacred to three faiths, always in strife, gripped in endless drama and bloodshed, where its inhabitants were all recognized at various junctures by this Pope - to the dismay of the others, each one jockeying for sole attention. All of Israel and Palestine's factions were each encouraged to find solutions for peace by making hard choices and sacrifices. Not one group was praised or faulted over the other, because they all must change their perspectives if the...

Last night I treated myself to another concert with one of my favorite songwriters and performers of all time, Melissa Manchester , I saw her last year at the Barns at Wolf Trap , for the first time since the early seventies... As always, she did not disappoint, but this year she performed a retrospective of songs that were dear to her heart and influential in her life - songs by Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Gershwin, Dusty Springfield, Carole Bayer Sager - show tunes like "Somebody" written by Sondheim , from the play "Company." Melissa included a classic by Ella , a beautiful re-interpretation of "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes - and topped it off with an exquisite acapella rendition of "Something Wonderful" from the "The King and I"... It was a trip down memory lane for me - for we are both about the same age - we have been married about as long - and have children the same age, so we were formed in many ways by the same m...

There are so many things that warm the heart and the soul... I think of this - on this beautiful morning as I look out the window to an explosion of fall colors. Every year, I am amazed at this spectacular display from nature; it never fails to disappoint! I think of this - as I bask in the afterglow of Jim Brickman's piano recital last night, at the Barnes at Wolf Trap . His evocative melodies and the passion with which he plays - I almost wrote - "prays" - are still resonating deeply within. When I watched him play last night - I thought to myself - yes - this is how he prays - with his whole body and soul - and his magical hands - making beautiful music that wafts up to the heavens as incense rises before God. I think of this - as I turn to the Spiritual Diary of Yogananda - every day before I begin my morning meditations. I have been doing this for years, and still the quotes are fresh. I share this excerpt from today: "You are endowed with greater strength ...