“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12 imposition of ashes during first day of Lent Today is the beginning of the Lenten season. Across the world, foreheads will be marked with ash and the ancient words will be spoken: Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.  It is not exactly a Hallmark sentiment. I used to hate it.  What a downer.  I see it differently these days. Lent (and other related rituals) may invite us to

"You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." Dale Carnegie In the last blog, I wrote about the Velveteen Rabbit and becoming real. Most of you have read the book. We remember how the Velveteen Rabbit did not become real by striving, impressing, or polishing himself into perfection. He became real because someone loved him — long enough, steadily enough, honestly enou

“Real isn’t how you are made,” the Skin Horse tells the rabbit. “It’s a thing that happens to you.” — The Velveteen Rabbit , Margery Williams About forty-five years ago, it happened to me for the first time. A tear. An inkling.  I was on the edge of a bed with two little boys, reading The Velveteen Rabbit . I hadn’t taken a shower for days. My clothes were proof of survival, with crumbs and smudges and ketchup wiped off with a wet paper towel. As I read about a toy rabbit lon