This blog was originally published April 2024 as a column titled "Meditation Can Keep You on Track” by College Park Here and Now, a much appreciated local newspaper in our area. Thanks to them and their editor, Sharon O’Malley, for their willingness to help me spread this good news. Stress, anxiety, depression, suicide, addiction and violence are too common in our world. Sadly, many of us have first-hand experience with some of these. Suffering like this can make us feel distraught and helpless. I learned from my decades practicing medicine that some problems are bigger than we are, and too o ..read more

“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” - Declaration of Independence, 1776 The word “happiness” may sound out of place among these august words of the Declaration of Independence. The word is kind of feathery and soft. What did the Founders mean? What is happiness anyway? Is financial security a prerequisite? Where does collective happiness fit into the feeling of individual happiness? Why is a right to happiness included ..read more

Dear friends, As you know, I don’t normally post more than once per month. I'm breaking my “rule” to tell you something I’m very excited about. I hope it will be as transformative for you as it has been for me and others. Introducing: ENGAGING WITH A MESSY WORLD Free Video Series! Each 20-minute episode is designed to help you survive, thrive, and even bring healing to what many are calling our “world on fire.” ? My good friend Integral Coach Susan Riggs and I have been working behind the scenes and pouring our hearts into crafting this free, dynamic 10-part video series that we are co-hostin ..read more

Dear friends, As you know, I don’t normally post more than once per month. I'm breaking my “rule” to tell you something I’m very excited about. I hope it will be as transformative for you as it has been for me and others. Introducing: ENGAGING WITH A MESSY WORLD Free Video Series! Each 20-minute episode is designed to help you survive, thrive, and even bring healing to what many are calling our “world on fire.” ? My good friend Integral Coach Susan Riggs and I have been working behind the scenes and pouring our hearts into crafting this free, dynamic 10-part video series that we are co-hostin ..read more

Famous quotes about war can touch us deeply and in different ways. Roosevelt’s famous words, “… a date which will live in infamy,” must have brought fear to my parents when they first heard it in 1941—they knew it meant my father would soon be going to war. Years later, hearing those words may have stirred difficult memories of my father’s four long years overseas in the US Army. When I hear or read those words of President Roosevelt, I think of the resolve and courage of our nation as it faced a frightening future. Recently I read words spoken by President Eisenhower after WWII had ended. Bef ..read more

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? I’m not so big on making New Year’s resolutions because I don’t tend to keep them. I do better with an ongoing process of evaluation and renewal that grows from my faith and includes my prayer life, conversations, books, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation—commonly known as confession. Any practice of self-evaluation, whether random or formal, will reveal an imperfect life—a “human” life with sins, problems, failures, or unhealthy habits of body, mind, or spirit. This is normal. Instead of just making a resolution, we can take steps that can bring heal ..read more

Dear Readers, I’m grateful to my daughters for giving me permission to share a recent letter I wrote to them. To respect their privacy, I’m not using their names. “Dear girls, Every single day I think about each of you,  pray for you, and thank God for letting me be your mother! You already know that I’ve come to see my mothering of you in a far different light than when I was actually raising you. Back then, I couldn’t see my missteps and serious errors of judgment. I was too busy and, as I now understand, I was also keeping my eyes tightly closed to avoid the light. I decided to write ..read more

Jenny was a hardworking and compassionate woman with an ordinary face that some might call plain. Her facial expression was usually tight and made me think she must be sad, angry, hurt, worried, or ill. Or maybe she was overworked and tired. But once in a while she metamorphosed into a different person. This other Jenny was absolutely beautiful with a big smile and happy, twinkling eyes. The first Jenny was a little scary and unapproachable. The new Jenny’s expression was soft and welcoming. It was like a magic switch had been flipped—from dark to light, sad to happy, off-putting to inviting ..read more

Our messy world would be in better shape if we prioritized mercy. I don’t mean we should replace justice with mercy, but that mercy must always be present. In other words, we must always be compassionate and understanding of opponents and those in distress.   Abraham Lincoln had this to say: “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” To experience and share these “richer fruits” of mercy we first must take some preliminary steps. We need to acknowledge our own faults and failures and admit the ways we hurt God and others, even when we didn’t fully recognize ..read more

“Did you confess? Did you have much to say?” During our visit to Italy, where my daughter and her family live, my husband and I were blessed to attend Mass in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. The English choir sang the words of the St. Francis Prayer, “Make Me a Channel of Your Peace,” my favorite prayer. But I did not feel peaceful—I was thinking about a difficult conversation my daughter and I had the previous day. After Mass my husband and I walked down some stairs where a smiling woman invited us to a side chapel for Confession, which was being offered in English. Confession is the c ..read more