Author: tomstellawebsite

“Poet Robert Frost was awaiting admittance…into a student fraternity and was told confidentially that only one factor was delaying his entry: the fact that he took long walks in the woods by himself…He was caught being an individual, with an inner life of his own, instead of the dead and public machine life of joining … Continue reading The Road Not Taken

“Were one asked to characterize the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the belief that there is an unseen order, and that our supreme good lies in harmoniously adjusting ourselves thereto. This belief and this adjustment are the religious attitude in the soul.” … Continue reading The Order is Love

“Everybody’s got fear. Everybody’s afraid something bad is going to happen sometime. That’s life. But what’s important is that you don’t let it stop you from doing things, taking risks. Every decision is a risk, every choice leaves a choice behind. You can’t let yourself get paralyzed by the fear of what might go wrong. … Continue reading From Fear to Faith

“Each person is born with an unencumbered spot, free of expectation and regret, free of ambition and embarrassment, free of fear and worry, an umbilical spot of grace where we were each first touched by God. It is this spot of grace that issues peace. Psychologists call this spot the Psyche, theologians call it the … Continue reading Spot of Grace

“Everyone I know, myself included, feels insecure about something they do; this need not be a problem. What is problematic is giving power to insecurity and never challenging ourselves to reach for higher heights, or venturing into new frontiers. I am in agreement with Rabbi Hillel, a contemporary of Jesus who said: “I get up, … Continue reading In Praise of Stumbling

  “The spiritual life, it is thought, is another kind of life than the one we experience with its cares and concerns, its responsibilities and relationships, its demands and delights…     When spirituality is divorced from the everyday dimension of our lives we are like a plant uprooted from the soil. When cut off from the … Continue reading Look for the Good

“Most people have come to prefer certain of life’s experiences and deny and reject others, unaware of the value of the hidden things that may come wrapped in plain or even ugly paper. In avoiding all pain and seeking comfort at all cost, we may be left without intimacy or compassion; in rejecting change and … Continue reading True Healing