Anthony Bourdain once observed that dictators tend to eat terrible food. Because in spite of their wealth and power, dictators care more...

My friend and I are spending a week at Metta Forest Monastery. I love it here, but the stillness can be confronting. In the absence of...

A therapist friend of mine has been volunteering at a program for veterans with PTSD. But at a fundraiser for that program, he was...

In Camus’ novel, The Fall, the narrator recalls a man who sacrificed everything for a woman, only to realize two decades later that he’d...

In the Bible, Joseph is sold into slavery and imprisoned, yet his spirit remains unbroken. Even in captivity, his gift for interpreting...

In Greek mythology, there’s a story of a nymph named Echo who was cursed to repeat other people’s words. Echo fell in love with a...

I live near several hospitals, so my neighborhood is often full of ambulances. When I’m trying to focus, the sirens can get to me, and I...

There’s a Sufi story of a dervish who comes to a river where two travelers are arguing. One says, “My spiritual teacher is so advanced he...

One of life’s hardest lessons is to focus on what you’re moving toward, not what you’re running from. You may think you’re looking for a...

The other day, someone said, “You give a lot, Paul. Make sure you receive too.” It struck me as odd, because I’ve never lived through a...

When my grandmother had Alzheimer’s, she’d often sit in front of the mirror and talk to her long-dead parents. “Sometimes I fly with them...

My friend recently told me he stopped going to therapy to try solving his problems with ChatGPT instead. How’s it going? I asked. “Well,...

I’m writing this from northern Colombia, where the indigenous Kogi people have lived for centuries. The Kogi believe everything in the...

I try to be kind to all animals, but as a New Yorker, I’m especially kind to pigeons, because I know their history. We humans once...

Years ago, at the start of a new relationship, I told my partner: “I have to be careful. I tend to play the role of caretaker and put...

In the Bible, Satan tests Job by stripping away his wealth, health, and family. Job’s friends come to comfort him and sit silently beside...

A monk asked Abba Poemen, “How should I pray?” “The way you already can,” the elder said. “Do not struggle to rise beyond your strength....

In the late 60s, Peggy Lee recorded a song called, “Is That All There Is?” In it, she recalls her life’s high points and heartbreaks:...

I’ve only ever had one post go “viral”. It was a simple piece about humility that, for some reason, spread like wildfire online. Soon it...

You may know the Greek myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun with wings made of feathers and wax. The sun melted his wings, and...