I grew up in a family that was never particularly spiritual, and so it followed that Thanksgiving meals were never preceded by the traditional giving of thanks. This year, for the first time, though, in all the 25 Thanksgivings I've ever had, I gave...

Daylight savings ended a couple weeks ago. I always thought turning back our clocks an hour every autumn only to turn it back forward in spring was a really pointless practice, "as if changing the clock would change time," I thought to myself when I...

Just this past Sunday I went with a friend for a hike under a blue sky, through trails of autumn leaves yellow orange and red. On the drive back we stopped by an orchard for some apples. I am eating one right now, and having it with some green tea. ...

There is something peaceful about a lit candle - the way the flame gracefully moves, the soft light it gives, and its wax body with its ever-changing and transient life. When I was a child, I used to revel in joy when summer storms knocked the...