“Protest any labels that turn people into things. Words are important. If you want to care for something, you call it a ‘flower’; if you want to kill something, you call it a ‘weed.’” ~Don Coyhis Losing my brother to a substance use disorder taught me things I never...

A man has only a hundred dollars in the bank and just got turned down for a job he thought he’d nailed. When his partner asks about it, he forces a smile: “It’s okay. Something better will come along.” On the surface, it sounds hopeful, but the words are a mask. He...

Last year, two major events occurred in my life: the first anniversary of my father’s fatal overdose and my tenth year of sobriety. That said, sobriety is like Zen—a process that starts over and over with each breath. Suzuki Roshi once said, “The most important thing...

Geshe YongDong Losar, a Tibetan lama who emigrated to Canada in his late twenties, decided that he wanted to learn how to play golf. Enter Jesse Moussa, professional golfer and private golf teacher. As the two men spent time on the golf course together, they came to...

Just before dawn, when the world is still and dark, we renew our devotion to compassion as our hearts turn toward light. A single candle flickers on the shrine, the air alive with presence and prayerful intent. In this threshold between night and sunrise, between...