Wild Bill’s Legacy of Love

This excerpt from the book Return from Tomorrow by George C. Ritchie is without question the most powerful testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit I’ve ever encountered. Every time I hear it, it takes my breath away.

Ritchie was a soldier in WWII who was part of a group assigned to a concentration camp near Wuppertal, Germany, after the war with Europe ended in May 1945. Ritchie’s team was charged with getting medical help to the newly liberated prisoners, many of them Jews from Holland, France and eastern Europe. He writes:

This was the most shattering experience I had yet had. I had been exposed many times by then to sudden death and injury, but to see the effects of slow starvation, to walk through those barracks where thousands of men had died a little bit at a time over a period of years, was a new kind of horror. For many it was an irreversible process; we lost scores each day in spite of all the medicine and food we could rush to them.

Ritchie then relates how he came to know an inmate the American soldiers called Wild Bill Cody due to his long drooping handlebar mustache that resembled that of the old western hero. Wild Bill’s real name was “seven unpronounceable syllables in Polish.” Ritchie writes of him:

He was one of the inmates of the concentration camp, but obviously he had not been there long; his posture was erect, his eyes bright, his energy indefatigable. Since he was fluent in English, French, German and Russian, as well as Polish, he became a kind of unofficial camp translator.

We came to him with all sorts of problems; the paperwork alone was staggering in attempting to relocate people whose families, even whole hometowns, might have disappeared. But though Wild Bill worked fifteen and sixteen hours a day, he showed no signs of weariness. While the rest of us were drooping with fatigue, he seemed to

A Dog’s Purpose

I ran across a wonderful little story about a little boy and his dog that perfectly illustrates both the nature of dogs and the natural wisdom of children.

A DOG’S PURPOSE

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog’s owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn’t do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane

The Best Gift You Can Give Your Child

My sister hugs our dad while my pet chameleon frolics on his shoulder

Years ago, I attended a lecture on healing by Dr. Bernie Siegel. During a guided meditation, Bernie asked everyone to close their eyes and visualize the child they used to be. He told us to go back to a specific event that had wounded us, to embrace the child we used to be, to give it the love and compassionate understanding it needed, to talk to that child and assure our former self that it was cherished and wonderful just as it was. As the meditation continued, I looked around. People were overcome with emotion. Tears were running down their cheeks as they bravely addressed the wounds they had struggled with since childhood.

Me? I felt nothing . . . but

How Can I Not Be Grateful?

If you’re going through a tough time, some thoughts from my friend Melanie may offer some comfort and hope. During our e-mail conversation, Melanie revealed that she had never truly felt loved as a child but learned to be a loving and compassionate person in spite of her upbringing.

I wrote back:

I’m sorry you were not unconditionally loved by your parents. In my view, that is inexcusable. But I understand that many parents aren’t mature and healthy enough to do what should come naturally. Good for you for breaking the unhealthy cycle!

Melanie wrote back:

Yeah, my mom didn’t love me unconditionally and I grew up with my dad’s

Touching a Moment of Pure Love

Our attempts to love unconditionally are often sabotaged by our ego. Why? The ego’s dominance depends on the belief that we are separate from God. And what is God? Unconditional love. The nearer we get to God, the more desperate our ego becomes.

The reason that ego and love are not compatible comes down to this: you cannot take your ego into the unknown, where love wants to lead. If you follow love, your life will become uncertain, and the ego craves certainty.
Deepak Chopra

Human love is limited, divine love is limitless. When you draw solely on your own reservoir of love, you risk

Responding With Love Is Always an Option

Live harmoniously with divine love, and you will naturally and effortlessly find yourself doing the right thing in the right place at the right time.

Love and do what you will.
Saint Augustine

If you have ever felt deprived of love, do not allow those painful memories to

Calmly Active, Actively Calm

What we call happiness is negligible compared to the inner peace and ecstatic joy we attain in meditation. Happiness, the province of the ego, is fleeting. Joy, the natural state of the soul, is infinite and eternal.

Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you 
shall be united with me, Lord of 
Love, dwelling in your heart.
Bhagavad Gita 12:8

Enriching your inner life is only half the equation. If the peace and unconditional love you feel in meditation is not

Work Through Your Relationship Grief

Last summer, my marriage ended. I didn’t want it to, but the gap between our lifestyles kept widening, and splitting up soon became the obvious course of action. I was heartbroken, but from the start I recognized that there was great value in my grieving process.

I’m sharing what I went through in the hope that the process that helped me recover relatively quickly may offer some comfort to others who are hurting. It took me four months to heal, which is far better than four years . . . or forever. You can recover from a broken heart. You can heal. You can be whole again.

Live Your Life as One Long Prayer

What is devotion? It is the unceasing practice of acknowledging God’s presence, with the ultimate goal of living your life as one long prayer.

Is it possible to maintain awareness of God’s presence in every moment? Think of it this way: When you fall in love, you hold the thought of your beloved in the back of your mind throughout the day, even while concentrating on difficult tasks. It is not outer activity but inner

One More Pitch

Eight-year-old Erin and me playing baseball in our front yard

I’ve heard so many men, including some good friends of mine, say that they didn’t spend enough time with their kids while they were growing up because they were so focused on their career. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a tragedy of epic proportions.

One of the things I am proudest of in my life is that I have no regrets about how much time I spent with my daughter, Erin. The many happy times we shared, and the knowledge that she felt—and still feels at 29—unconditionally loved and cherished, is far more valuable than the big bank account I might have had if I had been more focused on making money instead of memories.