Tom Adams
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For lots of reasons, November is considered by some, including me, Gratitude Month. This week’s post offers some personal reflections on how I became a believer in gratitude, and some of the benefits.
After the “No Kings” rally in DC, my wife and I stopped for a cup of coffee before we moved on to the Light the Night rally for Blood Cancers United. As we were outside reading, sipping our coffee, a young man came up to me and asked what I was reading. It so happened that I was reading a book on spiritual transformation. He was an inquisitive and cordial man of 23 and he mentioned that he had been reading Søren Kierkegaard, who has much to say about the human spirit. But he also mentioned that he was an atheist, but presumed I was a Christian. We soon moved on to the No Kings rally and the threat to democracy it was trying to counter. He then stated that he was not so much in favor of democracy. He didn’t think the masses could be trusted to govern themselves well.
I spent four days last week at a Twelve-Step Recovery Convention in Ocean City, MD. Being back at the beach reminded me of my end-of-summer reflections and shoutout to Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s book Gift from the Sea. Today’s post reflects on my gratitude for both the gifts from the seashore and from recovery.
This week’s post is a potpourri of reflections as summer and Labor Day weekend pass. I’m grateful for the month off from writing this post, and for a couple of weeks at the beach with family and friends.
I’ve reached an age where friends die regularly. Last week, a seminary classmate from New Jersey died. We spent four years of college together at a Baltimore seminary during the turbulent sixties. He was a larger-than-life guy whose wit was deserving of a late-night comedy show.
Most weeks I try to focus my post on one idea. Readers tell me that is more interesting and easier to digest. This week I am going to diverge from that path and comment on the ups and downs of my life recently. I suspect even those who enjoy chaos and are advocates of chaos theory have had enough? I sure have.
This is a lighten up post. I appreciate your willingness to read my ramblings about racial justice, addiction, recovery and spiritual growth. As the title of this blog indicates, Critical Conversations, I consider them important topics. I am grateful for your interest in those posts. It’s a big world and we are all but grains of sand: precious, important, and in the big scope of things small. What makes us big is our capacity for love and joy. And that comes from a lifetime willingness to grow, change and learn.
Easter Monday morning brought me and many the sad news that Pope Francis had died overnight. While expected and unavoidable, the fear of the leadership of another world institution becoming more conservative is real. And a nightmare in a time when the United States is led by a commitment to chaos, cruelty, and building wealth for the wealthy.
Editor’s Note: Last week I wrote about the need for spiritual practices to anchor us in these unsettling and oppressive times. This week’s post is by guest contributor Shirin McAuthor and focuses on lessons from Holy Week for Christians and others relevant to today. Shirin is a writer, editor and spiritual guide.
I’m increasingly aware of the challenge of accepting losses as I age. This week’s post is about “necessary losses” and my experience in making peace with them.
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.