Insights

After decades in pastoral care, I thought I had the answers. Turns out I had a lot to learn. One year ago, in my first column with Cityview,I wrote that when I know something, I know half and when I am absolutely sure I know, I know…
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Trips abroad provide insight into how we listen and learn from one another There is a country in South West Africa that taught me something about Knoxville, Tennessee. That country is Namibia, one of the poorest, most arid countries in…
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Is our anxiety pulling us away, or can we lean into it to connect? Rabbi and family therapist Edwin Friedman once wrote, "A major criterion for judging the anxiety level of any society is the class of its capacity to be playful.” The…
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How much of how we learn is based on who we are and how we grew up? What is it about "human nature" that it seeks so emotionally to know the facts? As if having all the facts means I will have all the answers.  The world we live in…
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Questioning our overreliance on data in the age of information overload There is a notion floating around us each day that if I have enough information (data) about myself, the world, the planet, then I will know what to do.  The…
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The balancing act between our rational thoughts and our intrinsic emotions is a difficult one No one reading this needs to be told that we are living in an anxious time. Communication seems to be filled with more “noise” than messages.…
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Finding the value in pausing and listening, understanding that there is always more than what meets the eye When I know something, I know half.When I am absolutely sure I know, I know less than half. These are words I heard from…
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This page almost didn't exist. Years ago, when I was asked to start this column by Nathan, I wasn’t sure I had the voice to tell my stories. I turned him down at least once. But he persisted. So I took the chance. I tried my hand, and then…
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Nature reminds us of the importance of being in the now Sitting on a bank on the coast of Sitka, Alaska, it’s hard not to feel like a small piece of something greater. The sweeping views are breathtaking. All the streams and…
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The lessons live on for those willing to teach them My grandfather and uncles began teaching me to hunt and fish when I was 12. Out of all of them, I can recall much of my early memories being with my Uncle Jake (Cox) who frequently…
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