The Unclad Soul

There is a brokenness in our society, a pervasive moral collapse, a reckless disregard for community, neighborliness, courtesy, and compassion. Our government leads by this example. Both parties are incompetent to guide us into a more responsible living, into a serviceable structure of humanity. Our leaders are dominated by greedy oligarchs who don’t just want more, they want everything, even if it costs our society its dignity, its soul, even its future. What is on display here daily is a wretched lack of self-esteem. The loss now influences all of us. We’re all affected in ways that keep us shamed by our actions. When we feel powerless, aimless, without any higher goals than the accumulation of things and the momentary thrill, we then mute our intelligence. We live by raw emotions—anger, appetite, urges. We don’t think, we don’t consider, we merely react. We push. We disregard. We threaten. We act out. And we fail. Self-esteem is a learned process. It builds on gen...

“For one wild, glad moment we snapped the chain that binds us to earth, and joining hands with the winds we felt ourselves divine!” – Helen Keller

"Where are you? Where are you, little girl with broken wings but full of hope? Where are you, wise women covered in wounds? Where are you?" "The world is missing what I am ready to give: My Wisdom, My Sweetness, My Love and My hunger for Peace." Please click below: A Beautiful Message on Women

I lost a friend last week. Her name was Angi Jenkins. Only 46 years old, her life ended after a lifetime of battling cystic fibrosis. I knew Angi during my years in Hamilton, Texas. She moved to Dallas not long before I did. We reconnected here and then we became Facebook friends. She was often in and out the hospital dealing with serious health issues related to the CF. I dropped in on her unexpectedly one afternoon when she was having to stay at Baylor Hospital for several days. She apologized for not looking her best, but anyone who knew Angi knew it was impossible for her not to look her best. She had a luminous smile, a glowing spirit, and a bighearted presence that simply chased away any of the dark clouds that surrounded her illness. She dealt with her situation with gifted humor, beautiful poise, amazing courage, incredible love and faith. In these past days Saint Paul’s comment in his letter to the Philippians comes to mind: “I thank God every time I think of you....

“When your mother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway.”  ~ Erma Bombeck This is an early Happy Mother’s Day wish to all of the moms I know and love. You are amazing women and loving mothers and I admire all of you. And I hope on Mother’s Day your family showers you with generous love and thoughtful gifts and warm embraces. My mom was a lot like Erma Bombeck’s quote. Ferris Bueller would never have gotten away with any of that stuff he pulled. Mom would have looked around the room, seen the pulley strings, and pulled back the covers. No. Ferris would have been toast. Mom wasn’t one to talk into staying home from school. You had to display signs of the Ebola virus or worse to get out of going to school. “Hop up, now,” she’d say. “You’ll feel better once you get dressed.” She was always right. She was as loving as she was tough. I never doubted that she was always and fo...

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.”  ~ Rumi, Persian Poet/Mystic

“What we seek, at the deepest level, is inwardly to resemble, rather than physically to possess, the objects and places that touch us through their beauty.”   ―   Alain de Botton ,  British Philosopher/Author

“A balanced life has a rhythm. But we live in a time, and in a culture, that encourages everyone to just move faster. I'm learning that if I don't take the time to tune in to my own more deliberate pace, I end up moving to someone else's, the speed of events around me setting a tempo that leaves me feeling scattered and out of touch with myself.” ~ Katrina Kenison, The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.”  ~ Khalil Gibran, Poet/Author