by Mark Beckwith | Sep 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
People often tell me, with some commitment and considerable pride, that they are spiritual. That they have moments— on a mountain or at the seashore, or have created spaces in their lives, where they feel a deep connection with the world, each other — and a divine...
by Mark Beckwith | Sep 14, 2023 | Uncategorized
I was profoundly irritated, the intensity of which surprised me. I was watching the semi-final US Open match between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova. I was relaxed and enjoying their skill and passion, and silently hoping that some of the former might rub off on...
by Mark Beckwith | Sep 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
Evil is a problem. And for millenia, philosophers, theologians and novelists have grappled with this problem: what is evil, how did it start, why does it exist, how do we respond? It has been, and continues to be, a confounding intellectual and emotional challenge....
by Mark Beckwith | Aug 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
In 2009 journalist Bill Bishop wrote a compelling book, The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing us Apart. Bishop makes the case that over the past several decades people have been living, working, worshipping and vacationing in places...
by Mark Beckwith | Aug 8, 2023 | Uncategorized
“No killer statements”, we agreed would be the first rule we would follow in our time together on a retreat with a group of teenagers and a few adult chaperones. A killer statement was anything that was said that demeaned, dismissed, or denied someone else. Our...
by Mark Beckwith | Aug 1, 2023 | Uncategorized
“Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke,” Office of Management and Budget Director Bert Lance said at a Congressional hearing in 1977. I don’t remember what the hearing was about, but along with millions of others, I easily recall the phrase. Most of us don’t refer to it...
