Walking With Kindness

What is required of us is to do justice, love kindness,

 and walk humbly with our God. Micah 6:8

Most of life is lived after the parades are over. 

I can see the prophet Micah walking behind a crowd that is celebrating a religious holiday, and noticing people sitting on the side after the parade has passed by. Wondering why, he goes over to find out. 

New Year of Grief

My essay "Grief Walkers," on the need for kindness when people are grieving, was published today at Manifest Station. It mentions Naomi Shihab Nye's poem "Kindness."

http://themanifeststation.net/2014/12/30/grief-walkers-by-mark-liebenow-submitted-113/

                  *

On the first New Year’s Eve after the death of a loved one, grief is a morose bear in purple that sits next to us on the couch and occasionally reaches over to claw us.

There is no late night dancing. No twirling of sparklers. No blowing of horns.

* If you would like to read the rest of this post, let me know and I’ll send it to you. *

There Isn't Much Time

April 7

After the death of a loved one, after the shock of death has worn off and we begin to move forward again, we may not feel ready to do so. We may not even know what direction to head. Yet we take our first tentative step and the world doesn’t collapse. It goes on as if nothing had happened.




We take a second step, and don’t self-destruct.


 * If you would like to read the rest of this post, let me know and I’ll send it to you. *