Dear President Trump, The other day Laura was late getting home from an outing that seemed unlikely to stretch long so I was pretty sure there would be a story, and there was. On a main arterial that crosses over a deep ravine she saw a young woman standing in the middle of the bridge … Continue reading Peacemaker
Kindness
COAL → diamond → CURE
Dear President Trump, When we teach veterans mindfulness skills so they can better cope with stress, pain, depression, and PTSD we address both specific strategies (e.g., mindfully attending to one’s in-breath and out-breath and corralling one’s attention back to the breath over and over) and the cultivation of certain attitudes towards oneself and one’s experience. … Continue reading COAL → diamond → CURE
We voted not to spit in your food
Dear President Trump, Laura’s dad was an old guy in the early 1990’s, but he had a pin that said “I’m surrounded by idiots.” I wish we still had that pin. Even more, I wish we still had Laura’s dad. He and I got along really well. We’d sit quietly for hours in his screened-in … Continue reading We voted not to spit in your food
Monstrous
Dear President Trump, You are getting it from all sides. Even Melania has a carefully crafted statement calling out the reprehensible nature of your cynical family separation policy. You will no doubt want to close your eyes and plug your ears in a “see no evil, hear no evil” kind of defensive defiance, but Mrs. … Continue reading Monstrous
Real patriotism
Dear President Trump, It’s good you went ahead and slapped the idea of readmitting Russia to the G-7 on the table this morning. I was wondering when someone was going to point out that your baiting of Macron and Trudeau and the wanton tariff leveeing were likely at Vladimir’s behest. I didn’t see anything in … Continue reading Real patriotism
Marjory’s legacy
Dear President Trump, My alumnae magazine was especially engrossing this month with interviews featuring six of the former presidents of Ethos, an organization for students of African descent, as well as a piece by a WP reporter who happened to be in Las Vegas the night of the horrific mass shooting and was thus, one … Continue reading Marjory’s legacy
Tonglen, still and yet
Dear President Trump, Lent ended months ago and I realized I’ve yet to circle back to let you know how my daily tonglen practice went those 40 days. Well, mostly it was hard. As I worked at breathing in whatever negativity I was perceiving, I struggled with both the emotional heaviness of the effort and … Continue reading Tonglen, still and yet
Jesus and Buddha would have liked each other a lot
Dear President Trump, Two days ago I discovered that someone in the next block up has a log on their front porch that’s been carved into a likeness of Jesus. The top is plain log, complete with bark and tree rings and the rest has a detailed Jesus face, neck, and upper chest carved into … Continue reading Jesus and Buddha would have liked each other a lot
What is wrong with you?
Dear President Trump, Did your minders not tell you that it’s not appropriate to enthusiastically say “Happy Memorial Day!”? Your tweet earlier today with that opening and the statement that all our dead service members would be so pleased with how great things are going here in America made me shudder. And cringe. Can you … Continue reading What is wrong with you?
In the living room
Dear President Trump, How about we stick with the good news theme for now? During the hour between worship services the church staff and those of us on our pastor’s support team threw her a surprise party to celebrate her having finished her Doctor of Ministries degree. I didn’t think we could actually pull it … Continue reading In the living room
Daily Trump Letters 