Blessed Are The Peacemakers

  Four short pieces on insight, authority, imitation and the utter strangeness of Human Nature. Breaking News: Local Human Accidentally Mistaken for Deity After Saying Something Smart A small reminder not to confuse good insight with authority. It started the way a lot of misunderstandings do: with one sentence. Not a dramatic sign. Just a decent thought from an ordinary person. Witnesses reported it was “insightful” Some even said “profound” One person described it as “exactly what I needed to hear” That’s when the trouble began. Within hours, the speaker, hereafter referred to as The Human, was discreetly promoted to a position they never applied for: Unofficial Source of Truth Phase One: Admiration At first, it was harmless. People nodded. They took notes. They said things like “Wow, I’ve never thought about it like that before.” The Human, still under the...

  Healing, discernment, tools and fear  Recently Stephanie Snuffer gave a talk that really resonated with me. As I've  pondered it, I've realized it has connected to things I’ve been trying to sort through for a while now, particularly when it comes to healing, growth and how we actually learn to live what we believe. This post is (in part) an attempt to work that out more clearly. Also, in a bit of irony that isn’t lost on me, I write as part of my healing process. Which is funny, given how hesitant we can be about therapy. Apparently I’m perfectly willing to do the work…. as long as I don’t label it too directly. So now I have a collection of drafts to prove it. This one is jumping the line, thanks to the current conversations and a little bit of pushback that made it harder to ignore ~~ There’s something I’ve been noticing more and more. We're not opposed to using tools to improve ourselves. In fact, that pattern is woven into how we already live. ...