Speaking of Spirit

Maybe it is because my family is a conglomeration of several nationalities or perhaps it is merely my own intrinsic love for world culture, but finding myself immersed in teaching immigrants and refugees the intricacies of the English language is one of my greatest joys.  We will begin 30 Poems in November in two days.  This is the major fundraising event for Center for New Americans where I teach.  Yes, we are teaching in the middle of the pandemic.  Let me tell you a little about that. First, imagine the difficulties of learning a new language. Now, imagine that you are in a new land, where you must support yourself and your family. Add to this mix a pandemic that closes most of the industries that will hire someone new to this country with limited English skills. Finally, imagine that for the first time in your life you must master technology so that you might continue to learn English.  Most people would have given up long ago, but my students have tenaciously hung in there and are

  “There is a spiritual hunger in the world today - and it cannot be satisfied by material things alone.”   Adlai E. Stevenson, the renowned statesman and ambassador to the United Nations, had a deep spirituality. The quote above is as true today as it was when he first spoke it in his 1956 Democratic acceptance speech. The world still has a deep and unquenched spiritual hunger. Why?  I believe, as Stevenson did, that our priorities are in the wrong places. Too many of us are striving for a better life through material things. However, new cars, bigger houses, the latest technical gadgets and closets full of clothes cannot fill the emptiness in one’s soul. Since COVID, this emptiness has become more apparent due to the lack of things to occupy our minds.  Many of us have never sat alone with ourselves. How do we fill the emptiness? What can we do as we head into the eighth month of this pandemic?  For me, natural beauty of any kind fills my heart and soul with joy. Music, religi