The Unclad Soul

There is a classic scene in Season One of HBO’s epic series, Game of Thrones. Queen Cersei Baratheon of the House of Lannister connives to have her young, impertinent son become King of the Iron Throne, a position of high power over the Seven Kingdoms on the continent of Westeros. When her son lies about a confrontation with a daughter of the House of Stark, the Queen assures him there is nothing wrong with that. In the pursuit of power, she tells him lying is necessary. “Someday you will sit on the throne,” she says, “and the truth will be what you make it.” The series is based on the novel by George R.R. Martin, which was written long before Donald Trump became president. And yet, it mirrors a ruthlessness of those seeking power in our own day, including President Trump. In fact, the scene I have quoted above, describes perfectly the mindset and political game plan of Mr. Trump. From the beginning of his presidency, we have seen that for him and his operatives, truth is...

I have asked this before, but I still want to know. What does any of it mean? Why are we here? Why do we so easily give in to hate and resist giving in to love? Why is aggression okay but the way of peace is not?   Why are we all so afraid? And of what? Are we, as religion teaches, just evil at heart? Are we already ruined at birth? Is it in our DNA to make wrong choices, so that we require an outside force, God or Karma or Allah or whomever, to coerce us to do good, through threats of punishment, suffering, damnation, and hell? Are we not able to do that on our own without being forced? I believe we are. I know too many good, decent people who are not driven by evil and selfishness. But unfortunately, they are always overshadowed, especially today, by an ugly, arrogant, mean-spirited crowd of self-aggrandizers, who are bitter, angry people. People obsessed with fears and prejudices and resentments. These people are all around us. In the government. In the media. ...

I was on the walking trail the other morning and happened to notice the white fluffy clouds in a clear blue sky above me. It’s hard to walk and look straight up at the same time. At least it is for me. I had to stop for a minute and take it all in. The smallness in society today, the petty wrangling over politics, the little daily insults from the President and politicians on both sides, the ridiculous media madness, the silly antics of drivers on the freeway furious because someone didn’t let them into their lane, the rude actions of store clerks and customers, seem all-consuming these days. And then, there is the sky. So vast. So mysterious. What’s up there besides airplanes and clouds? What might happen if we were to often roam the dimensions of nature? To get out of our narrow confines and seek wisdom in the sky, the ocean, the blooming flowers, and healthy plants, in the broad wide existence of our expansive environment. We might grow in maturity, in insight,...

There is a poignant scene in the British crime-drama, Broadchurch, where Cath, a woman in a dying marriage, confides in a friend. Cath has just discovered that her husband, Jim, had a brief affair with her best friend, Trish. It was Trish who told Cath about the affair. She explained that her long separation from her husband had left her terribly lonely, that she felt unattractive, and missed affection and intimacy, and that in a moment of vulnerability, she violated her best friend’s trust. Cath was furious about the betrayal, and then profoundly saddened by it. It was then that she told her boss and friend, Ed, about the whole thing. In a moment of reflection, she said, “I just thought my life would be, that I’d love someone, and they’d love me back, and it would last my whole life. Why is that so much to ask?” That comment describes the frustration and sorrow in so many marriages today. Society, the Church, our parents, do not prepare us for the difficulties of a lifel...

(Spoiler Alert: You may not want to read if you haven’t yet seen the movie.) I saw this past weekend the movie, “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” starring Shia LeBeouf as Tyler, Dakota Johnson as Eleanor, and new to the screen, an actor with Down Syndrome, Zack Gottsagen. His character, Zac, is a young man with Down Syndrome living in a nursing home where Eleanor, a kind and attractive staff person is assigned to him. Zac hates where he is and longs to leave. His roommate Carl, (longtime actor, Bruce Dern) is an elderly man who likes Zac and encourages him in his quest to leave. He knows he doesn’t belong there. Eleanor knows this, too, but she has no options for Zac since he has no parents or family to care or provide for him. Tyler (LeBeouf) is a failed crab fisherman, a sort of drifter and rebel who lives by his own rules. He wears the same dingy t-shirt, faded cap, stained shorts, and scruffy beard through the whole movie, and you begin to forget the actor and believe the c...

Writer and producer David E. Kelley’s HBO series, “Big Little Lies,” is a powerhouse revelation of modern-day marriage. Though the series is often outrageous and extreme in the happenings between people, it does provide a slice of life today experienced by many couples. Set along the gorgeous beachfront town of Monterey, California, it shows how complex relationships can be, and how wounded, damaged people wade through their pain often with incredible courage and sometimes with self-defeating denial. The cast is a brilliant group of actors, including Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgard, Jeffrey Nordling, Adam Scott, Zoe Kravitz, Meryl Streep, and others. I don’t think as a society, we have ever come to grips with the reality of just how strenuous and effortful marriage almost always is. Or, as far as that goes, any serious couple relationship. But marriage poses its own unique set of challenges. Perhaps Einstein said it best, ...

While on the walking/bike trail this morning, Billy Joel’s “The Piano Man,” began playing through my earbuds. This was one of my late brother Jim’s favorite songs. We often talked about it. So, when it started playing, I raised my index finger to the sky and said, “This one is for you, Jim, wherever you are or aren’t.” Death has always been a mystery to me. Eternal life, the idea of immortality after this life, is something I can’t explain or even comprehend. As a minister, I was, over the years, with many people who were dying and, in some instances, who died in my presence. There is a profound change in the body at death, an emptying of life. The human spirit leaves, you can almost see it happening, and disappears into the inscrutable and is gone forever. Where does that spirit go? I’m not certain. As a Christian, I want to believe our essence, our spirit finds rest somewhere beautiful. But, in spite of those classic Bible verses and the long history of Christiani...