Why Empty Time Matters More Than We Realize “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” — Mahatma Gandhi There was a time when waiting was simply waiting. We sat in doctor's offices and looked around the room. We stood in grocery store lines and noticed other people.
“May my thoughts, words, and actions be in harmony.” — Traditional Sanskrit prayer It is an aspiration most people immediately recognize, even if we rarely put it into words. Many of us spend years trying to become someone—building careers, raising families, meeting responsibilities, and fulfilling expectations. There is
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” — Carl Gustav Jung It is an unusual way to think about relationships. We often measure relationships by time. How many years have we known someone? How
A few days ago, thousands of people gathered in Chicago for the official opening of the Obama Presidential Center. Organizers described it as a celebration of democracy, culture, service, and hope—a place intended not simply to preserve history, but to encourage people to participate in
The Burden We Share A reader recently responded to one of our reflections with a deeply honest observation. One of the privileges of this publication is the opportunity to learn from readers. We publish articles and reflections, but often the conversation continues in the comments. Occasionally, someone
“What right now am I unwilling to feel?” — Tara Brach It’s a simple question that most people can answer if they are willing to sit with it for a moment. Not every difficult feeling is clear. Sometimes disappointment masquerades as irritation. Loneliness begets busyness. Fear poses itself
“The best balm for the soul is friendship.” — Eddie Jaku Imagine losing your wallet. Not a hypothetical wallet. Your wallet. Driver’s license, credit cards, perhaps a little cash, and all the small things that accumulate over time. How likely do you think it is that a stranger
Everything changes. Wisdom begins when we stop being surprised by it. For nearly twenty years, the remains of a famous writer sat forgotten. Not in a cemetery. Not beneath a marble monument. Not scattered at sea. In a filing cabinet. After her death, Dorothy Parker's ashes were sent to her attorney's
What Thomas Merton Learned at Fourth and Walnut On March 18, 1958, Thomas Merton was standing at the intersection of Fourth and Walnut in downtown Louisville when something unusual happened. Merton had spent years in a Trappist monastery in rural Kentucky pursuing silence, prayer, and the inner
A collection of reflections on isolation, meaning, friendship, solitude, aging, and human connection. Loneliness in later life can arrive suddenly and disrupt our sense of stability. This can happen when a loved one dies, a marriage ends, we leave a job for the last time, or