Author Archives: watchwordsblog

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing… not healing, not curing… that is a friend who cares. Henri Nouwen Meditation: When I was growing up my father was called toContinue reading “Depression…”

I think there ought to be a club in which preachers and journalists could come together and have the sentimentalism of the one matched with the cynicism of the other. That ought to bring them pretty close to the truth. Reinhold Niebuhr Meditation: For the past 96 days I have enjoyed the NPR radio showContinue reading ““Indivisible”…”

Be thou comforted, little dog, Thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail. Martin Luther Meditation: The days after Easter I always live with a heightened wonderment about the resurrection. I was tickled when I saw this quote by Martin Luther. I wondered if he had a dog like our dog. We got Zoe four years ago.Continue reading “Resurrection…”

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. E. E. Cummings Meditation: Since I turned 50, I have found a new sense of just being who I really am. I no longer want to please or adapt, nor worry about what others might think of me. I feel more clarity aboutContinue reading “Courage to grow up…”

Letting go of our need to control can set us and others free. It can set our Higher Power free to send the best to us. Melody Beattie (author: “Co-dependent no more”) Meditation: When we suffer within chaotic circumstances, we can get caught in the obsession of having to fix things and needing to control our environment.Continue reading “Free from control…”

We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean… and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect. Michelle Obama Meditation: I am working for two non-profit organizations, bothContinue reading “Gratitude…”

Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses. Ann Landers Meditation: “I am a friend of God” my four year old daughters liked to sing. They beamedContinue reading ““I am a friend…””

The final act of an unraveling society isn’t immoral behavior; it’s canonizing immoral behavior as a ‘new normal’ and celebrating it as a ‘moral victory.’ Jeff Iorg Meditation: Our society is being shaped by the media. The media has succumb to a “new normal” dictated by the politicians in power. Words have become relative. Promises canContinue reading “The “new normal”?…”

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. Nelson Mandela Meditation: When we enter a system to make changes, we will often find resistance and sometimes even make enemies. Often this has to do with projection. We are being seen as a threat and viewed as enemiesContinue reading “From Enemies to Partners…”

Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. Maya Angelou Meditation: Today was Easter Monday and my workplace took a day off to rest along with the church that has gone throughContinue reading “A day away…”