As we approach the season of Advent, a time traditionally marked by anticipation and hope, it feels particularly significant to reflect on what we are truly waiting for. In this episode of Frank Words, Frank Gasque Dunn dives deep into the essence of waiting—arguing that our lives are fundamentally an Advent, and that each moment is imbued with potential and promise. Frank begins with a poignant observation on the upcoming midterm elections, a moment that brings with it a mix of hope, dread, and uncertainty. He captures the collective anxiety we feel leading up to such pivotal moments:

In acknowledging our fears surrounding the elections, Frank reminds us that waiting does not equate to inaction. He emphasizes that democracy demands our active participation, urging us to channel our anxieties into meaningful action:

Frank Gasque Dunn explores how to foster civil discourse and unity in a polarized society, emphasizing the importance of listening, conflict management, and shared human dignity.

August's catastrophic glacial meltdown and resulting floods in Nepal raise deep moral questions. The issue of climate change has clearly moved beyond debates over whether it is real or how to ameliorate it and is now a matter of how the world, especially developed nations, responds to the human and ecological results of climate change. Vulnerable, relatively poor populations are often on the firing line of climate disasters caused largely by the emissions of wealthy nations in the Global North.

We're all in this together. How can we move towards greater solidarity with those most vulnerable?

There is no end in sight because there is no end. There’s only the need for a new beginning.

If 9/11 is to have a legacy other than continuous war and military reprisals, only the American electorate can raise the required level of pressure to make a course correction possible. That would be indeed the needed new beginning.

Current talk about a "soft divorce" of "blue States" or "red States" from the United States poses serious spiritual issues apart from a plethora of political and practical ones.

Ted Lasso shows us both the worth and the price of believing.

The Very Rev. Jim Kowalski joins Frank in the episode discussing shame and guilt, what they are, how they differ, and how to handle these universal and difficult imposters.

Living a whole life, living wholeheartedly, is living from the center of our being. Called by different names—the Self, the soul, our quintessential Nature—our center is the organizing faculty for our whole being. What are we living for, hoping for, caring deeply about? Our answers indicate what our lives center on and center in.