Secular

Overcoming My Hesitancy — Spirituality is a topic I haven’t written much about. This might seem odd because I do have some interest in secular spirituality. I’ve thought of writing about it many times but always seem to pull back. …

In Sara’s Ghazal, the term body is repeated to contrast the body's physical form with the spiritual. This emphasis is placed to highlight the conflicting feelings that the author is experiencing between his passions and his religion. …

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, he was said to be the wisest and the richest, with the wealth to buy anything that was conceivably possible, and he did. He said: “All is vanity.” Solomon, King of Israel, wondered what unhappy business God had delegated to humanity because as far as…

In Part 1 of this essay (Click here for it), I chronicle my journey to Bellevue Hospital Psych Ward where I stayed for 8 days in the fall of 2018. In this essay, I chronicle my journey through the hospital’s in take process and the “treatment” I was given. By…

As I stumble through this life, I strive to create more laughter than tears, dispense more happiness than gloom, spread more cheer than despair. I hope to never become so indifferent, that I will fail to see the wonders in the eyes of a child, or the twinkle in the eyes of the aged. I hope to never forget that my total effort is to cheer people, make them happy, and forget momentarily, all the unpleasantness of their lives.

There’s a chill in the air for the first time since Spring, and it’s been stalking me. Last week, it jumped out from its hiding place behind the shadows of the skyscrapers! And this morning, I caught it attached to my skin on an early morning bike ride. …

Welcome to this year’s edition of the History of the Holidays. I’m Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian. From now through the Spring or vernal equinox, we celebrate most of the major secular and sacred holidays. This series recounts the backstory, the history behind the major American holidays, some of…

In my most recent Jewish study class (converts to Judaism know what I’m talking about here — study, study, study), the question was posed in regards to Hanukkah and the call to make the story of the miracle known publicly: what do we do when the secular world and our…

Democracy works best at the local level of our cities and towns In this day and age we are witnessing an increasing paralysis of the federal government. Our two-party system is failing us. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do to remedy this situation. We the people are totally helpless…