These days, wildfires are everywhere, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. As in this image, what's above ground appears blackened and burned. Although a few sprigs of green appear in the foreground, ash, charcoal, and smoke stretch as far as the eye can see in the background. While forests all over the world are aflame, fires are also erupting closer to home, for example, in our politics and in our emotions, as we see what’s happening in the newsfeeds and in our neighborhoods. ...

The phrase "a place of healing" struck a chord in me when I first heard it in 1973, and in many ways, it's what led to my lifelong career in hospice and palliative medicine. Let me explain. I was a medical student in the early 1970s, or, should I say, a disillusioned medical student, and about to leave medicine to pursue an interest in movie making and the humanities. One day, I was sitting with a mentor figure, whom I'd just told of my decision. He listened carefully and then replied,...

On August 9, 2025, I had a brief audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Ladakh, India. As I stood waiting in line, holding my white kata scarf in both hands, I looked around. Hundreds of Tibetan pilgrims, dressed in traditional attire, stood or sat on every side, awaiting their turn. We were in a grove of tall poplar trees, which gave dappled shade, their leaves fluttering like green wings. From somewhere in the distance, I could hear chanting that waxed and waned, “Om mani padme hum,”...