My father taught me the value of insurance. Over the years, I’ve relied on the blessed assurance that our insurance policies would continue to serve as practical and emotional backstops to most losses we might incur. Now I’m not so sure…. A few weeks ago, several major insurers pulled back from their coverages. In California, it was new home owners policies. In Florida, both auto and home ownersMORE...
In the past few days, I’ve been feeling more than a little relieved. It seems that, per Amos 5:24, justice is once again rolling like an unstoppable river. That the laws of this land are being upheld and miscreants brought to trial. That rickety empires of lying, hate and disregard are collapsing. I think it’s okay to be gratified when evil gets cut down and withers. When generalized shame erodesMORE...
For too many months, my anxiety about large-scale problems in the world has blinded me to a reality much closer: People dear to me are quietly carrying significant personal burdens. All this time they’ve been dealing with chronic problems in their families, their health or their work. They’re doing the best they can, but things don’t always get better. Their anguish doesn’t leave much room forMORE...
It may be too soon, but I’m ready to greet–and continue–each new day with deep-breathing—not holding my breath until I check news feeds or e-mail from overnight. Real breathing, too, not the short inhaling and exhaling that’s a sign of anxiety or stress. What kind of breathing? Deep, slow respiration that exchanges oxygen for CO2. Breathing that replenishes every cell in my body andMORE...
Today I want to talk to you face-to-face. The situation in which I now find myself—in which you might also find yourself—has pulled me away from any well-intentioned writer’s façade. This feels like a propitious moment for me to take off my mask, so that you can see what’s going on inside of me during these times. I don’t’ think I’m handling this situation like the spiritually centeredMORE...
I don’t always sleep well at night. Some of that comes from the ordinary physical realities of getting older, and I probably take too many snoozes and naps during the day. Medical matters sometimes swirl around in my head. Unnecessarily, I take onto myself part of our nation’s generalized anxiety about surreal political machinations and bizarre leaders. All of those become reasons why myMORE...
(Today’s topic requires more than one entry. First some observations about the matter of anxiety, and next time an exploration of what might be useful embedded in what appears to be a problem.) You’ve probably noticed the recent flurry of my anxiety-related thoughts. You deserve an explanation and perhaps some encouragement if this phenomenon is digging at the foundations of your well-beingMORE...
In these times, anxiety dogs me at almost every turn. When I feel that way it helps to be prepared for some of the possibilities that tempt me to overthink danger. Being ready for sudden difficulty with “just in case” knowledge and skills. I know I’m not alone—after its initial publication in 1999, The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook has grown into a series of over a dozen titles. PerhapsMORE...
This entry is part of a series of blogs that connect political volunteering with spiritual themes. These observations come from my current volunteering for a congressional candidate. Today’s thought: Overcoming anxiety. Over the past two years or so, I’ve found inside and around me a growing sense of dread about the state of the nation, particularly its political health. Without keening thatMORE...
BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.