I like the idea of our choices being like sips. We nibble ourselves to death in slow-motion suicides. We build mountains on our own backs made up of tiny, seemingly insignificant grains of sand. “It’s no big deal,” we say, and add another grain. We struggle to conceptualize the consequences of such small choices. I…

The problem with all these THIS-IS-THE-FIRST-DAY-OF-THE-REST-OF-YOUR-LIFE folks is that they emphasize the wrong thing. Their intention (noble and pure) is to get you to realize how special THIS day is, to get you all in a frenzy about THIS day. They want to tap into that part of you that hungers to do great things.…

You wanna know the secret of how I kept my hundreds so crisp and flat? I’d take 5 or 6 bills and place them in the middle of a Bible commentary, then stack those commentaries on the floor, Romans on top of Matthew, on top of John, on top of Exodus, and so forth. After…

The humming noise seems to originate behind a set of industrial doors. The signs on the doors say AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY and DO NOT ENTER. But they left the door unlocked and, after a quick scan around for surveillance systems or supervising eyes, I press the release bar and open the door. No alarm goes…

In 2008, if you wanted to get to Machu Picchu, you had to take a long, blue train that rolled slowly through Peru’s jungle and mountains. The train stopped several times along the way so riders could refresh, and maybe shop, at little shanty markets, with buildings made of concrete blocks, plywood, and thatch roofs.…

I carry something precious deep inside me but I cannot access it. I possess an absolute treasure-trove that sparkles and glows somewhere just out of reach. I think you possess it, too. You have the same rich history of hilarious moments, of riotous, watery-eyed laughter. I’ve laughed so hard in my life, and the euphoria…

Somewhere in my early teens I wanted to levitate. The thought of defying gravity struck me as an obvious life skill only a fool would neglect. I went to the library and secured the appropriate book: Yoga & Meditation for Beginners. I remember a man on the cover sitting in a yoga pose with his…

Jesus kicks off Matthew 7 with a firm warning about the dangers of judgement, then follows this up by mocking those who judge the speck of dust in the eyes of others. On its own, I consider this teaching against judgement challenging, but also compelling and thoroughly coherent. If the teaching ended with verse 5,…

Let me share with you the nature of my toil. I’ve got all this stuff in my head that I believe you would enjoy having in your head. That’s why I write. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. A great distance lies between my head and yours, with terrible obstacles in the space…

I daydream often. Lately, in my fog of contemplation, I’ve pondered a question about creativity: Can a person truly be creative? So far I keep coming back to the same conclusion: The only truly creative thing we can create is how we treat the world and others. We do not truly create anything else. Everything…