We are a culture of people who've bought into the idea that if we stay busy enough, the truth of our lives won't catch up with us.

I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments, gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration, and faith.

A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick.

Faith minus vulnerability is fundamentalism

I believe joy is a spiritual practice we have to work at.

Compassion is not a virtue -- it is a commitment. It's not something we have or don't have -- it's something we choose to practice.

Vulnerability is based on mutuality and requires boundaries and trust. It's not oversharing, it's not purging, it's not indiscriminate disclosure, and it's not celebrity-style social media information dumps. Vulnerability is about sharing our feelings and our experiences with people who have earned the right to hear them.