Fears of the end have been with us from the very beginning. Endings and beginnings are mythic moments par excellence; they depict the extremes of existence and are the bookends of creation. There are countless stories of how it all began, and tales of apocalyptic endings can be found in...

A friend asked me what words of encouragement might help a young person who just graduated and must enter the current job market. With jobs being so hard to find, what advice would I offer? Advice is commonly considered to be one's personal opinion or some kind of general guidance,...

Plato is reported to have said that "all of life stands in need of a right rhythm." Another old idea has it that "rhythm replaces strength." Finding the right rhythm or tempo in one's life can be more important than developing outer strengths or simply following a plan. Elite athletes...

Samantha Garvey, a high school senior in New York, became famous after she was selected as a semifinalist in a national search for scientific talent. Her fame did not result from claiming the $100,000 prize; for in the end she did not win the contest. She was recognized...

Many studies indicate that lottery sales increase when people feel a lack of control over events larger than themselves. The economy is a prime example of something that affects each person, yet cannot be readily predicted or effectively controlled. Economics may be championed as a science, yet it is more...

January takes its name from Janus, the old Roman god of gates, doorways, and thresholds. Depictions of Janus show two faces looking in opposite directions; past and future, old and new, outer darkness and inner light. As ruler of all endings and beginnings, Janus was invoked at the onset of...

The Occupy movement may be an instinctive response, not just to the greatest disparity of wealth and power in the history of America, but also to the emptying out of institutions and loss of meaning at all levels of life. An underlying instinct to inhabit life more fully may be...

I want to give a report on a recent retreat with a group of veterans of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf and Vietnam. I want you to know how courageous they were in telling them. I'd like their voices to be heard over the din of the...

As this troubled year begins to close amidst protests and economic turmoil, the war in Iraq is supposed to come to an end. The troops are finally expected to return from the second longest war in American history. It's nearing nine years from the questionable beginning to the doubtful end...

It appears to be a protest movement, Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Boston, Occupy Oakland; and it is that. Over 2,500 people have already been arrested in the streets and a young veteran of the Iraq war seriously injured by police while exercising his well-earned right to seek justice and freedom...

The massive problems and loss of opportunities that characterize current culture make it more difficult for individuals to find a meaningful orientation in the course of their lives. Young people face a world lacking in jobs, but flooded with uncertainties. At the same time, older folks live longer and longer,...

Several Native American tribes tell a story about an old woman who wanders the roads of life with her grandson. For unexplained reasons, they are poor and hungry, caught in the winds of fate without food and shelter. They arrive at a village where people are busy with preparations for...

We live in a time of great forgetting. It's not just that people live longer and short-term memory loss becomes inevitable over time. We reach for a familiar name, but it is temporarily out of our reach. Having parked a car so many times, we forget exactly where we parked...

Recently, I have been on panels where people lament how the troubles of the world seem increasingly intractable. I've heard environmentalists suggest that evolution may have reached a dead end with regard to the human species. I've heard pained audiences decry political parties as well as social movements. I have...

For decades I have worked with severely "at-risk" youth; some who willingly put their lives at risk, and others who find themselves at risk for reasons beyond their control. Of course, all youth are at risk to some degree, as each young person must risk themselves in the world to...

The promise of America has long been based upon high hopes for a future that will surpass the present and redeem the past, as well. Yet, recent polls indicate the mood of the country is growing ever darker, both less hopeful and more cynical.

Corruption at high...