identity

February 15, 2026

Rising to who you really are

“No one rises to low expectations.” That’s what Joe Brady said during the January 29 press conference when he was presented as the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He was talking about his expectations of himself in his new job. But he got me thinking about our expectations of ourselves in matters of… Continue reading

Ruminations

abundant life, baptism, choices, convictions, expectations, fully alive, Going to Jerusalem, honesty, identity, inner truth, integrity, Jesus, Joe Brady, maturity, ordinary life, questions, testing, transfiguration, who are you?
January 18, 2026

What are you looking for?

No one knows who he was, the uncredited actor who played the huge, gaseous, disembodied head given to imperious, bellowing pronouncements in The Wizard of Oz. It was not Frank Morgan, who played the real-life wizard in the movie. Speculation centers on Henry Hull, an actor who worked with Morgan during that time, but studio… Continue reading

Ruminations

Advent, Bronnie Ware, calling, Christmas, Epiphany, following Jesus, Frank Morgan, Great and Powerful Oz, Henry Hull, Identify me, identity, illusion of self, Jesus, man behind the curtain, occupation of life, regrets of the dying, Thomas Merton, wizard, Wizard of Oz
August 14, 2022

With the eye of the heart

After reading today’s gospel (Luke 12:49-56), I have a bone to pick with Jesus. I understand he might have felt frustrated with those who didn’t see what he saw, who didn’t understand what he understood. I imagine he might have wondered if he’d ever get through to the knuckleheads who wanted to be his disciples… Continue reading

Ruminations

born of the Spirit, hypocrites, identity, in a glass darkly, integrity, kingdom of God, mask, new birth, seeing, self-deception, spiritual blindness, Thomas Merton, transformation, what are you living for?, William Stafford

About Me

Rich Neal is, in no particular order, a wordsmith and graphic designer; lover of typography, books, and publishing; photographer; contemplative; saunterer; and a retired and still-active pastor. He claims neither special wisdom nor particularly deep insight into life, only occasional glimpses of what lies behind the veil along the way. He shares them here in the hope of connecting the pieces of life’s puzzle that come to him in the journey and would consider it a gift if sharing them also connected him with others who travel an unmarked path toward the same unknown end.

identity

Rising to who you really are

What are you looking for?

With the eye of the heart