The Joy of Missing Out(JOMO)

We have been taught to fear missing out.

There is always somewhere to go, something to experience, another event to attend, another goal to achieve, another post to read, another thing demanding our attention.

We call it FOMO—the fear of missing out.

But what if there is another way?

JOMO—the Joy of Missing Out.

JOMO is the realization that we do not have to participate in everything simply because we can.

At Last, Fall is Here

Autumn is my favorite season. We’re getting away from the heat of summer to cooler temperatures. Beautiful fall colors are beginning to paint the canvas of our daily lives. Chefs everywhere are thinking of ways to surprise us with pumpkin spice.

Fall did not wait for anyone’s approval to step out, and neither must we. Nature has all she needs to lead us on the journey of life. We need look no further.

From a Zen perspective, I believe that this has to do with impermanence being visible. The world changes right in front of us.

buddhism, Rev John Karn, Kwanzaa, Community Rev. John Karn, D.D.September 26, 2026Fall, Seasons, Buddhism

Love Letter to America

On this September 11, 2026 we remember.

We remember a day that revealed the terrible capacity human beings have for destruction. We remember lives lost, families forever changed, and a wound that became part of our collective memory.

But that day—and the days that followed—revealed something else about us.

Our capacity to love.

In the midst of destruction, people ran toward one another.

Strangers helped strangers.
People carried one another.
Communities gathered.
Hands reached through smoke, fear, grief, and uncertainty.

Beautiful Disasters

Change is inevitable.

Yet some of the greatest changes in our lives rarely arrive neatly. They come through disruption, uncertainty, loss, illness, conflict, and circumstances we would never have chosen.

They arrive looking like disasters.

Illness can force us to reconsider how we care for our bodies and how we spend our time. Climate change challenges us to reconsider our relationship with the Earth. Humanitarian crises expose suffering that can no longer be ignored. Even the smaller disruptions of our personal lives—a relationship ending, losing a job, changing direction, or simply realizing that the life we have built no longer fits—can awaken us.

A Renewed Aspiration

We've been told the American Dream is about having more.

A bigger house. A nicer car. More money. More success. More things.

Too often, it has become a life financed by debt and measured by possessions. We spend years working to pay for a lifestyle that leaves us with little time to enjoy the life we were trying to build.

Perhaps it is time to ask a different question.

We Are What We Practice

I have studied and practiced many teachings along this endless path. One truth has remained constant throughout my journey: at the foundation of every great spiritual and religious tradition lies an ethical way of living. Whether we call them the Ten Commandments, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Five Precepts, or simply the Golden Rule, they all point toward the same aspiration—to live in a way that reduces suffering and nurture compassion.