Author Archives: watchwordsblog

“You carry Mother Earth within you. She is not outside of you. Mother Earth is not just your environment. In that insight of inter-being, it is possible to have real communication with the Earth, which is the highest form of prayer.” Thich Nhat Hanh Meditation: Here in the US, we live with a deeply dividingContinue reading ““Praying for Everyone…””

When you struggle with your partner, you are struggling with yourself. Every fault you see in them touches a denied weakness in yourself. ~ Deepak Chopra Meditation: When we are living very closely with someone, we get to know all her faults, all his”warts”, all her habits. Some we like, some drive us crazy. ThoseContinue reading “Struggling with myself…”

As a Christian, I’m passionately opposed to American pretensions that we have special standing with God; to political office-seekers who play on our religious differences; and to the religious arrogance that says, ‘Our truth is the only truth.’ Parker Palmer Meditation: Jesus embodied and taught the inclusion of all. He questioned all those who believedContinue reading “Religious/Political Pretensions”

It is remarkable how easily children and grown-ups adapt to living in a dictatorship organized by lunatics. A. N. Wilson Meditation: Usually adapting to change is a healthy survival mechanism. However, if humans adapt to toxic and destructive environments, the outcome is not necessarily health. Survival possibly, but not health. A worrisome development of theContinue reading “Adapting to lunatics…”

The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence. The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it. Adolf Hitler When somebody challenges you, fight back. Be brutal, be tough. Donald Trump Meditation: Intimidation and violence are the principles ofContinue reading “Perpetual, constant and regular violence…”

The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists. Hannah Arendt Meditation: The current president creates fiction by lying wherever he goes. The people he put in charge of major federal agencies doContinue reading “Totalitarian Rule…”

Comedy can be a cathartic way to deal with personal trauma. Robin Williams Meditation: Mental Illness is still something our society does have difficulty talking about. Many have to hide their depression or other mental health diagnosis and pretend all is well. One way of coping is through humor and through acting or playing “theContinue reading “Role playing as coping with mental illness…”

The only things standing between you and the compassionate, wise, and creative person you want to be are matters of choice. Your choice. No one can occupy your generosity except you. Gary Zukav Meditation: When we are afraid and angry about “not having or being enough”, we hold on for dear life. We start hoarding. WeContinue reading “Generosity- an antidote against fear…”

The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. Winston Churchill Meditation: The Mueller investigation methodically has indicted person after person. Plea deals were made, immunity was granted. The persons who have been indicted are all former employees of the president. Some of them haveContinue reading “In the end, there is truth…”

My dad is Caucasian, and my mom is African American. I’m half black and half white. Being biracial paints a blurred line that is equal parts staggering and illuminating. Meghan Markle Meditation: When my biracial daughters were four years old they witnesses how a biracial man was sworn in as the US President. For eightContinue reading “Being Bi-racial…”