Tom Adams
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I’ve always been fascinated by tree trimmers. As a boy, I watched with awe as they skillfully trimmed a high branch or took down a huge tree. My first career ambition was to be a guy high up in the tree with a hard hat on and a chain saw hanging from my belt.
I recently went up to the mountains of Colorado for some retreat time. The first morning I was there, I found myself thinking about the word retreat, which I’ve reflected on before. We retreat from work, or volunteer duties, or doing our part for tikkun olam (repairing the world), with the goal of getting closer to God.
This week’s post is about the gift of faith and how it widens and deepens as I get older. We all have faith in something. Otherwise, it would be hard to go on in a world filled with uncertainty and evil.
It’s not hard to see the tensions between a life committed to love and justice for all and one focused on destroying enemies and protecting the few. Easter Sunday 2026 offered one of the clearest pictures of this contradiction. This post is about the importance of play in a world in distress.
A few days ago, I joined other Christians in celebrating Easter. Whether through faith or nature or personal choices, spring is for many a time of hope. Depending of course on where you live, “spring” may begin at different times of the year. Today’s reflections are about the connection between hope and action. This post is in part a response to the challenge in last week’s piece Anchoring Joy by A. Adar Ayira on how joy is a different experience for Black people than white people.
“It’s a crummy world out there, and if you don’t know it, we’ll give you a field trip. It’s a beautiful world out there, and if you don’t know it, we’ll give you a field trip. When I wake up, I’m not sure if I’m called to save it, or savor it. I stretch that tension– until life sings.” (unknown source)
The Sunday before Christmas, my extended family gathered for a holiday meal and gift exchange to celebrate the season together. My sister has hosted this event since my Mom and Dad became physically unable to do so. My Mom and Dad were in their late 80s when they passed and had hosted our family gathering for over 60 years. That is a lot of tradition—and a lot of love—handed down.
How ‘often’ do we ask ourselves a question that begins with the phrase, “In These Perilous Times”? For me, it seems like ‘often’ has been repeating itself, well – quite often for the last several years. Earlier this month, my wife and I decided to give ourselves a short break from the constant barrage of ‘breaking news’ in our DC perilous environment and attend a day-long meditation retreat.
This time of year often brings my faith journey into new perspective—or shows me where I’m still stuck. Usually both. Today I want to share how this season of light has opened me again to hope, imagination, and trust, even when the world offers plenty of reasons to doubt.
Happy Thanksgiving! This year there is much for which I am grateful; that includes you as a reader of Critical Conversations. Thanks for checking out these posts and sharing your reactions. Knowing that you read and consider my words gives meaning to the creative process!
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.