I am blessed to be one of several trained First Responders through International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC - www.iocc.org) Frontliners Team. And, in training to be a First Responder in the field of emotional and spiritual care to victims of disasters, we learn some very valuable insights about caregiving and the dangers of caregiving. But…
Fr. Barnabas Powell
"Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence." This quote by Henry David Thoreau is beautiful. But I have a problem with it since it seems to suggest that any path will do as long as it's your own path.
To be sure, we are each free,…
"No life is a total waste. It can always serve as a bad example." I'll never forget when my best friend first shared this bit of wisdom with me. I was really down because someone that was suppose to be a positive influence on me was anything but. And I was disappointed, scared, and, frankly,…
Let's face it; learning the lessons of life the "hard way" is our default position as humans. Oscar Wilde said that "Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes."
And yet, we don't seem to learn from our mistakes very often. Over and over again, we revisit some bad choice either until it…
What's the best way to improve society? Change the person or change the society? There was a day in America when the common understanding was to change the person and society would improve, but nowadays it seems that many think that fighting to change society means addressing society's faults rather than the faults in the…
I love it when the Church gives us these Old Testament readings! And the reason is because too many of us misinterpret the word "Old" for "unnecessary." And nothing could be further from the truth!
In fact, if Truth is true then it's true no matter when it is revealed. But the "chronological snobbery" of…
An Optimist says the glass is half full; A Pessimist says the glass is half empty; A Realist says the glass has water in it; An Opportunist drinks the water while the other three are arguing!
Let's face it; life is complicated and perspective makes a difference in practically all situations in our lives. But…
Ok, so it's a pet peeve of mine. This whole notion of "fairness" strikes me as a cop out and a danger. Precisely because fairness is so important AND so illusive.
But why? Why does fairness always seem to be just outside our grasp? Why do we hear so much about it and see SO…
You've heard the old joke about the man who bought a horse from a very religious owner. The horse didn't respond to the normal commands like "giddy up" for "go" and "whoa" for "stop." The religious man who had trained the horse taught him to "go" at the word "hallelujah" and the "stop" command was…
"But it's not fair!" You could hear the pain and anger in her voice. You could see her face was contorted and shaped in a way that communicated just how upset she was. Hey, get use to this if you have children! My daughter was indignant that her sister got to do something she wasn't…