Tom Adams
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No one knows what the midterm elections will bring. While media in all forms abounds with opinions, no one knows who will be elected or how the President and his followers will respond. If one is prone to worry, there is more to be concerned about each day as wars continue, the President changes sides on Russia, and tries to buy the election in ways too numerous to enumerate.
Well we certainly live in some interesting yet chaotic times. In such times it is easy to either tune out of current events or to throw one’s hands up in the air as a lamentation against things that we cannot control. Our democratic values and beliefs about equity, truth and virtue winning out in the end-all are under attack. There are wars that start up and seem to go on forever. People are caught up in all of this mess as we see prices increase for everything from carbon based fuel to groceries. Here in Canada we are facing an economic trade war for daring to stand up to tyrants and bullies.
In less than a month, the 2026 midterm elections will be over. Are you ready? Are you asking yourself what is yours to do to use the elections to help restore civility and a commitment to freedom and justice for all to our local and national lives? I hope so, for everybody’s sake.
Today’s post is part of an ongoing series calling for greater attention to family recovery from the negative effects of problems with alcohol, drugs, and other substances or processes. I believe the best way to slow down the obvious and hidden effects that can extend across generations is to better connect individual and family recovery. This requires widening the lens through which we view recovery and being open to new possibilities in what we say and do to advance recovery for all.
I’ve looked for caring and compassion from those who were either too focused on their own needs to notice anyone else’s or had so little capacity to care for and love themselves that there was nothing to give other people.
If you’re lucky, you’ve never been stung by a jellyfish. If you spend time at the ocean or a bay on the East Coast and like to swim in very hot weather, you are likely to know what jellyfish are. Maybe you have even been stung once or twice.
Happy summer’s end and fall! Thanks for supporting my time off from Critical Conversations. Today’s post is reflections on my time off this summer. First, by way of context, you may have figured out that I like to stay busy. The first challenge in taking much of June,...
This week’s post is about slowing down during the summer. I offer some reflections on the gifts and challenges I’ve experienced. I will continue to “practice” during August, including taking a break from posting Critical Conversations. My next post will appear on September 8.
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is a continuation of a series of reflections on America’s 250-year celebration and its meaning and call to action. Stef McGuire, a North Carolina advocate transplanted from Connecticut, shares how she spent the 4th and why it reinforced her...
Editor’s Note: This week’s post continues exploration of America at 250 and its meaning and invitations. Greg Cantori, a friend who has moved to Spain and shared other posts on life there with us, offers an interesting perspective on America at 250 and our connection...
Tom Adams writes and speaks on topics vital to the intersection of our personal lives with our community and global lives. He has for decades been engaged in and written about nonprofit leadership and transitions, spirituality and spiritual growth, how we each contribute to a more just and equitable world and recovery from addictions and the Twelve Step recovery movement.