The more I study human sexuality, the more I am convinced that it is a uniquely beautiful gift largely because of the range of paradoxes that are (or can be) integrated through it. The sexual part of being human is magnificent and deeply passionate. It is also odd and messy. […]

Perhaps you’ve appreciated that somehow Easter has largely escaped numerous attempts to turn it into a massive excuse for more consumerism. (The article, “Holy Crossmas” in Slate does a good job of summing up some reasons.) So far, the commercial side is largely limited to the mildly pagan Easter eggs […]

It may be early for New Year’s resolutions, I but think I may have just chosen one for myself: to savour more. This morning, in the midst of communion at church, I felt an inner nudge to take a moment to notice and savour what I was participating in. I […]

It seems to me that a lot of human motivations are based on fear, self-centredness or both. I wonder if the best motivation for how we choose to live is to seek to live beautifully. Here is a quick look at some of the common options: 1. Earning someone’s approval […]

If the first word (displacement) represents the cause of the suffering and the second word (accompaniment) represents the path of those, Colombian or ex-pats, who seek to care and help, the third word represents the hope in the heart of the victims, and that word is resilience. I will tell […]

As, I assume, is true of just about any culture in which one is raised, my experience of being shaped by a fairly conservative, evangelical culture (in my case it was suburban Mennonite flavoured) gave me much to be thankful for as well as much that was less than helpful. […]

Beauty is very important to me. Seeking beauty makes a lot of sense as a human calling, and I believe it to be thoroughly intertwined with spiritual hunger. We need beauty as much as we need food. But just like we’ve often needed several words to clarify types of love, […]

Someone once said that to me in answer to a question of why he engaged in destructive behaviour. I found it surprisingly vulnerable and non-defensive. He seemed to be saying that he would gladly choose something less harmful if he felt like he had options. The need to celebrate can […]

Many trends flourished briefly in the seventies, and, in the therapy world, one of those was “strategic family therapy.” This therapy was great fun for the theorists and those practitioners who were able to work in teams (not sure about the families) because it was so much fun to plan […]