Author Archives: watchwordsblog

Follow that will and that way which experience confirms to be your own. Carl Jung Meditation: How do we know which life path to take? When we make decisions, how do we know what is the “right” one? Growing up in Germany I learned the concept that there is a definite and objective “right andContinue reading “Having Faith…”

Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that’s important. Self-discipline with awareness of consequences. Dalai Lama Meditation: One of the developmental challenges for teenagers is to learn self-discipline. Their brains are wired to go for pleasure and immediate gratification, and our society offers them thousands of reasons to follow that route. A matureContinue reading “Self-Discipline…”

Let us answer the terrorists by living our values with courage. Angela Merkel Meditation: In a time when the US experiences daily random reactionary words and behaviors in US politics that leave us often wondering which basic moral values are still being upheld, if any, it is good to hear these words from a female European politician. She wasContinue reading “Living Our Values With Courage…”

I like being famous when it’s convenient for me and completely anonymous when it’s not. Catherine Deneuve Meditation: One of my daughter has been voted to become the 9th grade homecoming queen. The funny thing is that she does not necessarily wants to be in that position, while many other girls are “dying” and have campaigned hardContinue reading “Holding Fame Lightly…”

Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it. Dwight D. Eisenhower Meditation: Religion sometimes has had a hard time waiting for people to develop their inner motivation. Religion at times forces or coerces people with “shoulds”, “oughts” and threats, as it isContinue reading “Motivating as a Spiritual Art…”

God’s love does not protect us from suffering. God’s love protects us in the midst of suffering. Hans Kung Meditation: Many people ask: “How can there be a God if there is so much suffering in the world?” or “How can God allow earthquakes and hurricanes and have so many people die and suffer?” WeContinue reading “Our Tears – God’s Tears…”

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Reinhold Niebuhr Meditation: What if we are not being cured? What if our problems do not go away in our lifetime? What if that which burdens us will not be completely lifted? Shouldn’t we despair? Shouldn’t weContinue reading “Saved By Hope…”

Rising sea levels, severe draughts, the melting of the polar caps, the more frequent and devastating natural disasters all raise demand for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Leon Panetta Meditation: When this US president took office, he announced that there was no such thing as global warming. He also announced that he would build theContinue reading “Nature meets the president…”

I’m not a parenting expert… I’m an engaged, imperfect parent… Like many of you, parenting is by far my boldest and most daring adventure. Brene Brown Meditation: Parenting has been and is the most formative adventure I have ever been on. Growing as a parent alongside with our children requires us to learn about ourselvesContinue reading “Parenting Teenagers…”

“Today, as Christians, all of us are called to put behind us all prejudice toward the faith that others profess with a different emphasis or language, to offer one another forgiveness for the sins committed by those who have gone before us, and together to implore from God the gift of reconciliation and unity,” PopeContinue reading “Lived Ecumenism…”