We often speak of our "dark side" as the violent, out of control part of us. But there is a quieter, softer part of our shadow side which can diminish us and our world.   more »

“Are You Gonna Watch Me?


I was taking “Lori,” one of our Village kids to her soccer game on Saturday ...   more »

The really important things we SEE is with the heart.   more »

I am no mystic but I believe in everyday miracles, like the seed of God within us.   more »

We have a tendency to demonize parents who have abused their kids. Most are not ogres but only flawed human beings.   more »

Ashland Oregon, Macbeth and a Walk in the Park   more »

Few things in life more noble than restoring hope to a kid on the verge of giving up   more »

Getting Close To the Kids


Some days I find myself loving the kids so much it’s scary. It’s the kind ...   more »

A story about a might little bug that love won't let it die...   more »

Susan Patron wrote a gem of a book ("The Higher Power of Lucky" about a ten-year old) girl who lived.....   more »

Pupfish, Golden Canyons and the Pure Desert Air

Death Valley has an undeserved bad name. In reality, it teems with ...   more »

Kids and Geezers are drawn to one another because of shared values.   more »

Our busyness can't disguise our reluctance to commit to a cause or go within.   more »

“The soul is healed by being with children”


Dostoevsky


I suspect that parents, dealing with their kids being home from ...   more »

Boys lost in the foster care system in this country bear an eerie resemblance to the Lost Boys of Sudan.   more »

There's something about the innocence of children that touches a place deep within us.   more »

Picking blackberries and baking a pie. A rite of summer.   more »

Working with these kids I cry a lot    more »

Saying goodbye to our Children's Village dog was both sweet and sad, like life.   more »

It wasn't the outbursts of anger that worried me as much as the deep sadness that enveloped him,   more »

Taking a little guy fishing is great fun even if you only catch seaweed   more »

When a child sleeps, God is present.   more »

What if we replaced the cult of the body with St.Francis's way of looking at our bodies?   more »

One of the kindest things we can do for others is to be with them in their grief.   more »

Living as an old dude in the midst of a passel of foster kids makes for quite a ride.   more »

There are places in the heart we never knew existed until we have loved a child


Someone once said that there are places in the heart that you never even know exist until you ...   more »

What Are Old Folks For?




I picked up the book at the bookstore the other day and was astonished at ...   more »

Not giving our kids a hug may be "inappropriate."   more »

Never mind chasing that lost youth. Enjoy who we are and the life that was ours.   more »

Becoming a true Elder Ain't Easy. It takes heart, lots of it.   more »