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Category: Mercy

When bad things happen to “bad” people

I learned about the impending capture of Dzhokar Tsarnaev, “Boston Bombing Suspect 2,” as my mother described the event to me on the telephone. “He is in a boat stored in the backyard of a home just three houses down from Bob’s house,” she said. (Bob is close friend and colleague.) She Read more […]

May 14, 2013
“Even When We Don’t Want to” (A 70-second read on pressing into courage, selflessness and forgiveness.)

This blog post was prompted by a thought I posted on Facebook this morning: I’m considering the beauty of Maundy Thursday, Christ’s final hours in His human experience. The Last Supper, the Passover meal. Washing of the feet. Communion. “Final” thoughts and commandments (“maundy” is Latin for “commandment”). Read more […]

April 5, 2012
“Let’s Climb Out of the Bucket” (My reflections on ‘Kony 2012’)

My dad often tells a story about what it means to be a crabber (someone who catches crabs). The crabbers place their catches, one by one, into a bucket. Eventually, the bucket is full enough for some crabs to have the opportunity to stretch their claws to the rim of the bucket, and escape. But…

March 19, 2012
I answer the Q: What does “compassion without borders” mean to me?

Below is an essay that won a competition in celebration of a visit to my university by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. It was printed in a booklet, and gifted to His Holiness. We had been challenged to answer (in 500 words or less) this question: “What does ‘compassion-without-borders’ mean to you?” Read more […]

March 3, 2012
4 Things I’m Glad I Don’t Know for Sure

For years, on the last page of the ‘O’ magazine, Oprah Winfrey has written a column she calls: “What I know for sure.” Today, I’m doing just the opposite. In a reading for my “Spirituality and Health” class, I highlighted this phrase: “Prior to conception, the soul exists as a drop of Read more […]

February 21, 2012
Don’t just do something, stand there. (A 1-minute reading.)

One of my first kids was initially brought to AidChild covered in wounds—the beating kind. Nearly every inch of his little body had been abused. We don’t know his date of birth, but he must have been six or seven years old. It was truly awful. Like all of my kids, he quickly rebounded, and…

February 16, 2012
“Is Sad Bad?” A discussion of the impact of sadness on human development

When our emotions are picked and fastened together in a bunch—into our life-bouquet—each bloom emanates its own aroma resulting in the special perfume which is us. Most people want to have beautiful, happy bouquets, but our collections of emotions sometimes develop differently, and melancholy Read more […]

February 8, 2012
“Thank you for that courage!” (A 45-second reading.)

One day, many years ago at home in Uganda, I had the opportunity to give an employee some positive feedback. He looked at me with a big smile and said, “Thank you for that courage!” While I assumed that perhaps he meant to thank me for my encouragement, I liked the notion of courage as…

February 6, 2012

Nathaniel Dunigan, Ph.D., Ed.M.

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