Mark's Blog
The Rashomon Effect: Different Stories of the Same Events
Our lives are framed and formed by stories. A portion of my life – and of so many others I talk to, is framed and formed by the story of the war between Hamas and Israel. A heart wrenching, tragic, and seemingly unending story. In fact, there are two stories. One...
The Vast Expanse of Space Can Unhook the Ego and Open Us Up to Gratitude
In Space there is a lot of space. Much more than the naked eye can see. The recently deployed James Webb telescope (in 2021), now a million miles away from earth, has shown us how vast and spectacular space is. Not to mention how old. We are now receiving – for...
The Middle East Pain Evokes Memories of a Daytime TV Show and Images of an Unhealthy Triangle
Queen for a Day was a radio show that began in 1945, switched to TV, and ran until 1964. I would occasionally watch it when I was home sick from school. The format was consistent: four contestants, all housewives, were invited to tell a story about their financial...
The Danger of Co-opting Religion: A Breach of the Third Commandment
The major conflicts in the world today– the wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Gaza, which capture our attention and churn our stomachs, are justified by ominous religious impulses. For instance, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch...
Violence, Death, and Halloween
Halloween is a fun holiday for kids, partly because they have an opportunity to score lots of candy, which is restricted, if not forbidden, most of the rest of the year. But more profoundly, they get to dress up and live into a fantasy of being a princess, witch,...
Behold: A Way That is Beyond and Beneath Belief
It is too much to take in: the atrocities in Israel and Gaza, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the waterfall of humanity gathering at the southern border, the chaotic dysfunction of Congress, the relaxing of gun laws coinciding with an acceleration of gun purchases — with...
Kintsugi: The Art of Healing the World’s Broken Pieces
I am feeling emotionally and spiritually raw. Most people I have talked with this past week say they are afflicted with a dispiriting malaise. As the images, stories, options and opinions regarding Israel and Gaza flood various media spaces, my psyche bounces...
The Dangers of Instant Gratification
The data suggests that the fastest growing religious group in the United States today are “nones”, which refer to the growing number of people who reply “none” when asked of their religious affiliation. Into this expanding vacuum is an attitude and a practice that...
The Problem of Telling People to Go to Hell
“I hope you burn in Hell.” I have read this condemnation several times over the past few weeks, the vitriol coming from someone who is incensed over someone else’s position or action. Over the years I have heard it said directly, not at me, but at a close friend...