A Mystical Elephant

We are, each of us, essential in every way. Episode 60 not only honors those who are putting their lives and treasure on the line day-in and day-out but affirms the sacredness of us all. Better Angels are forging a new path right here and now. Can our values shift to recognize this truth and transform us? Let’s look forward to a new awakening of oneness and rebirth of our essential nature.

So many of us have been sequestered at home for several weeks, sheltered in place by this deadly virus. Episode 52 offers up the idea of creating, developing, and recording your personal story. Planting the seeds of legacy by doing this will leave a gift like no other. What a great opportunity for all of us to share our true colors with those we love.

When other people are suffering we feel a deep stirring to fix things for them. Episode 45 is about what to do when all of our good advice and solutions seem to fall on deaf ears. With chronic trauma and poverty of spirit, perhaps incorporating and befriending our own pain is the way to compassionate oneness and healing.

This is the season we’ve been anticipating throughout a long winter. Spring is ushered in as college basketball heads into March Madness. Episode 43 somewhat whimsically looks at how the game has moved indoors with abandoned hoops dotting home courts once filled with neighborhood kids. Has independent play without adult organization become a thing of the past? Perhaps a revival is just what we need.

Episode 42 is called "What Are You Fighting About?" It explores the difference between fighting for and fighting about. We take a look at standing your ground as well as finding a way to nonviolence. One thing is certain, winning at all costs while weaponizing religion is no way to peace.

The sting of death and depth of loss can be diminished when regrets are minimalized. If we do the best we can under adverse circumstances, avoid leaving one another angry, and forgive mistakes along the way, we will be able to find our way to acceptance. Episode 37 explores our 'if-onlys' and offers a way to think about how you might like to be remembered.

Haven't we had enough of all the quarreling and divisiveness to last forever? Episode 34 of An Elephant for Breakfast looks into the one place where separation can best be healed. We turn to our faith systems and religions. Unfortunately, this seems to be the one area where we are most at odds. Yet in the midst of this discord, something wonderful seems to be germinating. Communities of hope are rising from the ashes of despair. Harmony, Serenity, and Unity might just win the day after all.

Wouldn't it be odd to find an Amazon box at the door, leaving it outside and never opening it? Episode 33 looks at this kind of peculiar, yet all too common phenomenon. The wonderful content unexplored represents that true and authentic self that we try so desperately to ignore. Yet the gift is always there and forever waiting to be unwrapped. The choice is yours to make.

Episode 32 whimsically refers to talking frogs. Of course it is less amphibian and more grounded than that. We are exploring dreams, passions and how we think about them. There is so much beauty and mystery to life yet we spend most of our time looking past it toward goals and survival. Are our dreams and passions intact? Is it possible that we have set them aside and settle for less? Stop and take a good look around. Perhaps it's time to reflect and reconsider.

In Episode 31 we look at the unfairness of life. Bad things happen to good people. Trials and tribulations seem to come more frequently than joy and good times. Has God abandoned us to fate or are we often weighing what is just and unjust from a self-centered perspective? Maybe life isn't so tragic after all.

On this Martin Luther King Day, January 20, 2020, I wanted to share reflections from the Civil Rights Museum's MLK50 celebration in 2018. Memphis is a city that is trying to change. The history of racism and the assassination of Dr. King is being reframed through community projects, programs, and by listening. We can transform personal prejudice. bias and racism too.  The Special Podcast today is about my own journey and awakenings. There is language in it that is offensive and descriptions of behavior that should be heard through the context of time. It would be wrong to sanitize it.

At one time or another, every one of us has either broken trust or has had trust violated. Episode 30 explores the damage done to relationships after betrayal.  The fear, of course, is that nothing will ever be the same.  Something sacred has been lost. But is that true? There is always a way to recover even if the relationship cannot be fully restored.

Ifs and Almosts are the subject of An Elephant for Breakfast Episode 29...If you loved me...If you do this I will do that...If only things could be different. These statements limit relationships and make them conditional. Then there are those regret-filled Almosts. I almost took Scuba lessons. I almost applied for that job. I almost took a chance. Both Ifs and Almosts take the flavor out of life. What might happen if we eliminated both and threw caution to the wind? I have a hunch that this adventure would be a lot more fulfilling.

This episode is about the good news that each of us is blessed and has been since we were conceived. The bad news is that most of us don't believe it. The basis of an authentic spiritual journey has four themes or movements of love. The mission of your life-time awaits you.

This episode of An Elephant for Breakfast takes a fresh look at the nature of tolerance. It asks if we might explore the option of a new pair of glasses when it comes to our fear and mistrust of others.

As our holidays in the United States come to a close, many people around the world are just starting.  Epiphany and The Twelfth Night usher in a whole new season of joy. It is also a time to reflect on our awakenings...those Ah-Ha moments that shape hour lives. Deep spiritual experiences of connection with God and one another shed light on our mission and purpose. Let's start this year off by being open to such possibilities and by continuing the celebration of life.

Episode 25 is the first of 2020, the new year and decade. As we resolve to do better, to be better, and to shape how things might look in the days and months ahead we might consider what is most important. Here are five simple resolutions that, if practiced, are guaranteed to rejuvenate life.

Episode 23 comes on Christmas day 2019, It is a story about my experiences at the home of my Aunt and Uncle, Helen and Wendell Trenchard in Deland, Illinois. My grandfather, Roy Jones, his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren gathered each Christmas to celebrate the great love of family with traditions from a sleigh bell parade to ghost stories around the fireplace. It is an era lost to time but which still warms hearts generations later. May your own memories bless you today and always.

Sharing our stories and memories is one of the most important things we can do...especially during the holiday seasons when vivid recollections come back to us with such clarity. Our struggles, triumphs, stumbles, and successes can provide just the hope and sense of possibilities that family and friends need to light their own paths. This is our legacy.

There is a longing that descends during this season of celebration. All of the hardships and struggles of life seem heaviest as we consider what we might have lost on the journey. But then a light flickers and a single star shines. There is always a way back home.

The grace of unknowing is the source of wisdom, growth, and transformation. As the season of light presents itself again this year. It is important to recognize that for some, a poverty of spirit obscures the festivities. Setting aside our busy schedules for being present to those who suffer can carry lifesaving comfort. When allowing ourselves to be transported from wellbeing, certainty, and control into the gloom of another person’s shadows, it becomes possible to experience the grace of unknowing.