A brief and funny exchange happened when I startled a co-worker who exclaimed, “Jesus Christ!. ” I replied, “Sorry, no.” We both giggled. This prompted me to think about how this interaction related to the well-used George Fox quote: “Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one.” … How do I do this? How do I model and act from this place, not only with the pleasant daily interactions but with the more difficult people?

There are times that feel like an important transition point, particularly when a year where trouble seems to be on the horizon passes, and the other begins. It’s not only the transition of the calendar but our social stability that can seem shaky. Recently at these moments it has seemed like things are changing to a time of increasing uncertainty, where a lot of things could go very, very wrong, when the democracy I’d been comfortable taking for granted could falter.

People say the opposite of love is hate or indifference, but maybe it’s really greed. … 1 Corinthians 13 defines love as patient and kind and not jealous or boastful, etc. In contrast, greed is the exact opposite. If we reverse 1 Corinthians 13 it would say: Greed is impatient; greed is unkind; it envies, boasts, and is proud, etc.. However, the original 1 Corinthians 13 can give us hope, for it says,… these things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Sometimes it feels like the world is fracturing into billions of pieces. There are disasters at home and work and difficulties with those we love and care for and ourselves. … This brought to mind the concept of tikkun olam (repair of the world), the mystical tradition that tells the story that in creating the world, God contracted and poured part of God’s Self into vessels of Light. Love, is our primary tool to manifest God’s presence in the world. Our job is to find and connect these sparks within ourselves and each other, using the force of love. … nurturing the spark within and becoming the vessels of Light and Peace, we can effect a real tikkun olam, repair of this fractured world.

To survive difficult times means having the fortitude to persevere. It means holding onto resilience and compassion with a spiritual tenacity. It means no matter what, taking that one step after the next step and staying connected to each other. Fortitude means we don’t give up. This fortitude and the strength to hold onto hope can bring us through looming troubles with our spiritual essence intact, both as individuals and in community. …
fortitude and patience can ignite the embers of a healthy society and the spiritual oneness we have with each other so we can rekindle in our society the eternal fire of infinite Love that will bring us to mutual wholeness.

What does it mean to be searching for treasure? If you ask people what “treasure” means to them, the primary definition would probably be something connoting wealth, some sort of material thing. … Looking at world leaders, the treasure they seek seems to be – material wealth, prestige, and power. This is essentially what has created such a dire situation, an existential threat to the globe on so many levels.
However, if you change the tense of treasure from a noun to a verb and instead ask people what it is that you treasure. To this, one of the first things people might answer is my family, my friends, and other people I love.