It was a cool October day and I was sitting on my favorite bench in my favorite garden in Pittsburgh—a little slice of green tucked in the side of the corner lot under a series of stained-glass windows lining the east wall of the synagogue. Beyond the walls, the busy intersection loomed; but inside I […]
Spiritual Disciplines
Always Listening
It’s so much to take in—the cacophony of sounds that is never-ending in this place. There is never silence in our swelling, overcrowded city. The sounds are becoming familiar to our Western ears these days. Allahu Akbhar. The musical nature of the call the prayer lulls the children to sleep. Briing. Briing. We have come […]
What a Social Media Break Taught Me about Soul-Care
Sometimes I think about Jesus’ day to day life in the first century. I’m aware the Gospels do not record everything he ever did; there were mundane moments when he was probably overwhelmed by the heat of the desert sun or when he waved away flies that hovered over his meal, but those moments are […]
Suffering as a Spiritual Discipline
When we talk about Spiritual Disciplines, we like to think of things we are adding into our lives. Rhythms, practices, prayers. Maybe it’s painting or journaling, perhaps it’s times spent wandering a trail in nature or a different way of allocating our time. Regardless of the method, the goal is the same: to connect with […]