Taking a Deeper Breath

Today is Martin Luther King., Jr. Day, a federal holiday observed each year on the third Monday in January in honor of Dr. King's life and legacy. It is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service, a  "day on, not a day off." In honor of Dr. King,  Story Corps  has collected powerful  first person accounts  of experiences with Dr. King, as well as other stories for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Here is a link to Dr. King's  "I Have a Dream" speech.  And here is an excerpt from his final speech, the one in which he says that he   " ha[s] seen the Promised Land."   It would be easy for us to despair. That speech was given over 50 years ago, and the Promised Land of freedom and equality -- of a world without our White supremacy -- may never have seemed more distant, especially in the light of these past four years and the deepening distress of the past two weeks.  And yet. We see the ever-growing commitment to Black Lives Matter. W

 In my faith tradition, we marked  January 3 as the Epiphany, commemorating the arrival of the Magi at the stable where Jesus was born. "Epiphany" is commonly used now to mean a sudden insight, discovery, or revelation. But here's what  Rev. Dr. Barbara Holmes,  a spiritual teacher, activist, and scholar focused upon African American spirituality and President Emerita of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities says: "While in the midst of an epiphany, folks inevitably apply the term 'discovery' to lands, people, and ideas that have always been present. We use the language of strange and alien sightings when the more accurate statement would be, 'Eureka! I have just awakened to a long-standing reality that an inner unveiling has finally allowed me to see.' ”  I thought of her statement after last week's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when thousands of pro-Trump rioters besieged the Capitol complex. As more videos of the violence and more

It's early morning on New Year's Day, and I am more than ready to see 2020 behind me. I know that I'm not alone in my relief to see the new year arrive. This is the traditional day to begin New Year's resolutions, but I have none. It wasn't always so. I used to spend time in December thinking about resolutions to improve my life (or so I thought) in the year to come; I even tried to make promises to work toward goals that I thought would benefit others. The problem was that my resolutions were either too big or too small; they felt either too expansive and too constrictive. In the end, they didn't get me to the results I wanted. A "too big" resolution was one that eventually seemed unattainable. Maybe it took more energy or commitment than I had expected, or maybe I became frustrated or impatient at how much time it took to achieve. It's a common experience, I found, with so-called "self-improvement" plans.  Whatever the case, sooner or l