Writings – Share & Heal: The World According to Brother Ian

Thoughts Writings mktdaf January 16, 2026

Thoughts: How about we share? And heal?

I’ve been carrying this simple phrase around lately: share and heal.

Not “share to get ahead.”

Not “share once you’re totally safe.”

Just: share and heal — because I don’t think we’re going to survive (or thrive) without moving in that direction.

A lot of the world runs on the opposite philosophy. Even when it’s dressed up nicely, the underlying rule can be: protect what you have, compete for more, and don’t let anyone see you’re hurting. And honestly, I get where that comes from. People are tired. People have been burned. Trust can feel expensive.

But here’s what I keep noticing: a society built on mistrust becomes unlivable — not all at once, but slowly. In a thousand small ways. People withdraw, walls go up, and everything starts costing more: emotionally, socially, spiritually. Even simple things feel heavy.

When I say “share and heal,” I’m not talking about having no boundaries or giving until you’re empty. I’m talking about a healthier kind of sharing:

sharing what you can (without pretending)

listening without trying to win

offering help without making it a transaction

telling the truth gently, instead of performing perfection

making room for repair

Because healing isn’t only personal. It’s collective. If your neighbors are struggling, the community is struggling. And if the community is struggling, none of us is as “safe” as we think.

Here’s the paradox: when people share in healthy ways, they get stronger. Trust builds.

Connection builds. And trust is the invisible infrastructure that makes a life — and a culture — work.

So that’s my offering today: share and heal.

If it resonates, tell me what it looks like in real life (not theory). And if you think it’s unrealistic, I’d genuinely like to hear why — what would need to change for it to be possible?

Because I don’t think we get to a better world by pretending we’re all fine.

We get there by sharing what’s true… and healing what we can.

Emperor's New Clothes Writings mktdaf April 20, 2024

ENC: When they talk about THIS, it keeps you from hearing about THAT

In this section of The World According to Brother Ian, called the Emperor’s New Clothes, we take a peek at the things around the world that people don’t seem to know about, but should.

Just a few years ago on the CBC, someone was asking Gore Vidal in Montreal if he thought the divisive politics in the States would lead to a revolution. He said people have to be truly angry to have a revolution, and that he felt that Americans are, in his words, “Merely grumpy.”

I would tend to agree…and a big player in what you & I see in the chart below.

I’m pretty sure if folks knew, with certainty, what GMO food is doing to their guts, what pesticides are doing to the plants & bugs we need to have a sustainable shot at a planet that can continue to feed our kids & their kids, that we’re running out of drinkable water, that continued population growth is crowding out our chances to make enough food, that we have more than a few very-fixable problems….I’m pretty sure people would work hard to make it change, make good things happen.

You can only be grumpy if you don’t really know. Grumpy won’t get the job done. The social will, the political will, the community will to change this will come from yelling, at the top of your voice – “This IS important!” and to tune out the silliness on the right hand side of the chart.

But you can’t make it happen if you don’t know there’s a problem.

It starts here. Now.

Doing Business Funnier mktdaf April 7, 2024

What you see is what you get….sometimes.

Yep, nothing there. Cartoon by xkcd.com, used with permission.

I hope you find new people & new ideas & new ways to see the way it all works….good place to start (if you don’t know him already) is Randall’s xkcd webcomic….he gets it, and has fun getting there.

Here’s the link to the one above, and his site….be careful, you’ll get lost in the archives, or just hitting the ‘random” button, which is poetry in & of itself.

Funnier Writings mktdaf March 7, 2024

Writings: Remember to celebrate (maybe this will help)

Get it write the first time.... — Get it write the first time….

I know you think monks just sit around thinking up jokes & stories to make their point, which is hard because they don’t get out into the world enough (some monks, you know).

But it’s really not like that – here’s one of my faves:

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A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand. He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript.

So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up. In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.

The head monk says, “We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son.” So, he goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn’t been opened for hundreds of years.

Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot. So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing, “We missed the “R”, we missed the “R”. His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably.

The young monk asks the old abbot, “What’s wrong, father?” With a choking voice, the old abbot replies, “The word was CELEBRATE!”

Writings mktdaf March 3, 2024

Writings: Sometimes, you come in first, together. Right, Sara?

Sara Tucholsky isn’t gonna forget.

It was cool to hear this story from a few years ago – heard it then & want to share it now – that shows what happens when the right people do the right thing at the right time. And don’t tell me you’re not a softball fan – this story is for people-loving people fans, too.

Way to go!

See if you agree.

Writings mktdaf March 1, 2024

Writings: Lighten for a moment, with Sarah Norrad

Lighten for a moment beautiful one.
Place down those shackles, tethers and bounds.
Allow all your responsibilities to release too.
For this special moment,
just be free.
The sun has risen and is touching us with her light.
We have grown and are touching the world with our own.
Lighten for a moment dear one.
This work is done more easily,
if we saw it not as heavy but as light.
Place down those shackles, tethers and bounds.
Let the wrestling match with life become a sweet dance instead.
For the sun has risen and is touching us with her light.
And we have grown and are touching the world with our own.

~ Sarah Norrad

*Mount Baker sunrise – photo by Ian Byington*

Thoughts Writings mktdaf December 28, 2023

Thoughts: A voice singing, without words

Listen intently to a voice singing without words. It may charm you into crying, force you to dance, fill you with rage, or make you jump for joy.

You can’t tell where the music ends and the emotions begin, for the whole thing is a kind of music—the voice playing on your nerves as the breath plays on a flute.

All experience is just that, except that its music has many more dimensions than sound.

It vibrates in the dimensions of sight, touch, taste, and smell, and in the intellectual dimension of symbols and words—all evoking and playing upon each other.

– Alan Watts

Doing Business Thoughts Writings mktdaf September 11, 2023

Thoughts: Bringing the seasons together, in one place

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are – and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life – can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfilment of your fall.

Don’t judge a life by one difficult season.

Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

– drawn from an uncredited Internet posting

Writings mktdaf July 20, 2022

Writings: Letting go, with Thay

leaf

Letting go
Hearing the bell,
I am able to let go all my afflictions,
My heart is calm, my sorrows ended,
I am not longer boound to anything.
I learn to listen to my suffering and the suffering of another person.
When understanding is born in me, compassion is also born.
Thich Nhat Hanh

Writings mktdaf July 16, 2022

Writings: Love where you’re at

Even when you see nothing but love
Love where you’re at

Even when you see nothing put pain
Love where you’re at

When you’re not sure where to start
When you’re not sure when to finish
Love where you’re at

Over the hill is greener grass
Up in the sky are clearer skies
Deep in the water are visions seen & unseen
Love where you’re at

Love where you’re at, then get to work
What you share will help heal
And the healing spreads along with all that you share

– Brother Ian

Photo by Brother Ian
Are the leaves turning gold at the end of the summer,
or are they the glorious beginning of autumn?
As the leaves teach us how beautiful it can be to let go,
or maybe how hard that can be –
love where you’re at.

Thoughts Writings mktdaf February 4, 2022

Thoughts: Puddle love

Puddle love.

My friend Ellen is doing her teaching practicum at a pre-school…I asked her what interesting happened today.

She said she told a kid today that it wasn’t a great idea to drink out of a puddle. She brought years of biology (germs!), geology (mud!), anthropology (the other kids don’t seem to want to drink…this!), sociology (this isn’t something people in our culture usually do, you know!) to the discussion.

He listened, then spoke.

The kid brought his first-hand experience to the discussion (it tastes gross, but I was thirsty!) and was thus persuaded to go inside for a drink.

Win-win-win.

Thoughts Writings mktdaf February 2, 2022

Car facts: How much is it worth?

I love this story – it reminds of my Dad & his classic car club. (That’s his ’22 Model T in the picture, by the way…his first car!) It’s the kind of tale he’d mention, when I needed biz advice:

A father said to his daughter, “You have graduated with honors, here is a car I bought many years ago. It is a bit older now but before I give it to you, take it to the used car lot downtown and tell them you want to sell it and see how much they offer you for it.”

The daughter went to the used car lot, returned to her father and said, “They offered me $1,000 because they said it looks pretty worn out.”

The father said, “Now, take it to the pawn shop.” The daughter went to the pawn shop, returned to her father and said, ”The pawn shop offered only $100 because it is an old car.”

The father asked his daughter to go to a car club next and show them the car. The daughter then took the car to the club, returned and told her father, ”Some people in the club offered $100,000 for it because it’s a Holden Torana and it’s an iconic car and sought by many collectors.”

Now the father said this to his daughter, “The right place values you the right way!”

If you are not valued, do not be angry, it means you are in the wrong place. Those who know your value are those who appreciate you……Never stay in a place where no one sees your value.
Never!

Doing Business Thoughts mktdaf October 1, 2021

Thoughts: What’s so wrong with being wrong?

Most of us will do anything to avoid being wrong. But what if we’re wrong about that? “Wrongologist” Kathryn Schulz makes a compelling case for not just admitting but embracing our fallibility. I always like her work with Grist – when you check this out, you’ll see why.

Writings mktdaf September 30, 2021

Writings: Sorrow makes things grow, most days…

Late last night, I was in the middle of a dream when the cat yowled at a raccoon outside. Kinda cool, because that helped me remember what was happening in the dream:

There was a stream next to a tree with roots that were above ground (some of ’em, or they wouldn’t be called roots) in a way that made for a chair shape. I sat there, watching & feeling the water go by, and glad for the sense of fulfillment & peace that made me glad I was there & nowhere else.

As I sat there, feeling the flow of the water, I realized some of the water was sad. It was the tears of people upstream who had lost friends. Some had people who were important to them pass away, and they missed them. Some had suffered harm, and hurt, and fearful situations.

I stretched my hand over the water, and said, “Only the tears need to come.” And the stream stayed the same, except that some of the water rose in a water spout and passed over my head, watering the field behind me. I knew that was the tears, rising from the flow, and in front of me the plants in the field grew quickly, strong & tall. Most of all, a second tree – not the one I was under – grew from a seedling, taking only moments to become large enough to spread its branches over me, protecting me (or so I thought) in its shade.

Still in the dream, I turned to my spirit guide, and asked, “What does it mean, Rinpoche? What does it mean?” As usual, making fun of me, he turned to my grandfather and said, “What does it mean?” who then turned to a rabbit who had hopped into the field, “Tell me what this means!” And the rabbit came to me, and whispered, “Sorrow makes things grow really big. Ever notice?”

It was really clear. Then the cat yowled, so I asked her if she was worried.

I don’t think she was, really.

Uncategorized Writings mktdaf September 29, 2021

Writings: Thy will be done….

Over the years, little bits of things make a bit more sense. Time passes & experience grows, as I watch the way others do things & I do things, in this play we write each day, together.

Since I was a young monk, my parents sent me to Roman Catholic schools, even though we were Anglican (or Episcopalians, in the US).

Even though I wasn’t really a monk in the usual sense, I was attracted to the idea of a daily office, or what my Buddhist friends call a practice.

The idea of doing & saying the same things over & over each day served then & now to help underline that we’re here to live spiritual lives, and then do stuff in the physical world. In that order, rather than the reverse.

Francesco, opening the conversation for you & me.... — Francesco, opening the conversation for you & me….

At least, that’s the way I see it, hey….

When I taught my first high school job in New Orleans, it was (naturally) at a Catholic boys’ high school, where we were required to offer the Lord’s Prayer or a Hail Mary before each class. I liked the “Our Father,” so that’s the one my class began with. It was already part of the little daily office I had made for myself, along with the St. Francis “Make Me An Instrument” prayer.

One of the phrases that stuck with me then was pretty simple, the four words: Thy will be done.

At the time, I understood it in the do-what-your-parents-tell-you sense. Follow the rules, do the bosses’ will.

Do what you’re supposedta.

Over time, it became more & more apparent to me that “thy will” had more to it than that. As I watched people who felt to me to have that special gift of bringing spirit alive in the world, I started feeling a shift with both “Thy will be done” and “Make me an instrument of thy peace“…and I hope it’s OK that I share that with you, as a notion for you to turn over in your mind, to float in your head, to move your body to places where you show people what it means to share & heal.

Kinda makes things feel more, mean more, and do joy – more.

I’m pretty aware my poor efforts to share this as words is only the first part of what we’re visiting about here. So, I’d like to wrap up with a little prayer from Brother Charles, one of my spiritual heroes who made simple things turn into amazing things.

Let me know how it goes. I love the way you love, dear brothers & sisters.

Hugback –
Brother Ian

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Prayer of Abandonment

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
Do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

~Brother Charles de Foucauld,

Thoughts Writings mktdaf June 21, 2021

Happy Solstice, dear angel!

As many people in the world celebrate this Summer Solstice, I hope this day finds you listening to the love around you & finding the chances we have, to share & to give, and that it finds you smiling.

I hope this day finds you connecting.

Connecting with your father. And your mother. And the angels who got

you here.

Connecting with the friend you meant to call & haven’t yet. Call now.

Connecting with that friend you call too much. Call anyway.

Connecting with that old grudge & calling her. Calling him. Hard call, but

a chance to release and (I hope this for you, and for me) to forgive.

Connecting with the part of your heart that opens walls, opens the locks,

and lets the light in. Then call.

Within the embrace of your love, I hope you feel that love returned.

Love, Brother Ian

Writings mktdaf March 30, 2021

Writings: Wherein the tradition becomes revolution, with Thomas Merton

It seems appropriate to offer thoughts by Father Louis (Thomas Merton) on Good Friday, especially when it speaks of the change of heart that lead to the peace the Christ told us about:

And yet this tradition must always be a revolution because by its very nature it denies the values and standards to which human passion is so powerfully attached.

To those who love money and pleasure and reputation and power this tradition says: “Be poor, go down into the far end of society, take the last place among men, live with those who are despised, love other men and serve them instead of making them serve you.

“Do not fight them when they push you around, but pray for those that hurt you. Do not look for pleasure, but turn away from things that satisfy your senses and your mind and look for God in hunger and thirst and darkness, through deserts of the spirit in which it seems to be madness to travel. Take upon yourself the burden of Christ’s Cross, that is, Christ’s humility and poverty and obedience and renunciation, and you will find peace for your souls.”

Thomas Merton. New Seeds of Contemplation

Category: Writings