Tom Adams
See our Resource Pages for additional information on each topic.
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!
I’ve been focusing on gratitude this month as we head towards Thanksgiving, and in Twelve Step circles, celebrate Gratitude Month.
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.
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.