Reflections On the Art of Increasing Joy, Meaning and Belonging In Daily Living
This series poses life-questions for personal reflection. My views are offered as a thought starter. Question: Does Life Have Meaning? ———————————————————— One of my favorite Jackson Browne songs is "For A Dancer." I'm going to borrow a portion of the last verse to frame my reflections. And somewhere between the time you arrive And the …
Continue reading "Reflections, Vol. 1: Does Life Have Meaning?"
Recently a friend and former colleague sent me an email offering a thoughtful critique of this blog. Having worked together on the same team, she challenged me to consider whether the blog practiced concepts I believe in, namely: 1. Listening vs. Speaking 2. We vs. I 3. Asking vs. Stating Her critique reminded me of …
Sooner or later each of us faces the universal problem of finding our way through significant hardship. Despite efforts to the contrary, life circumstances are often beyond our control, leaving us no alternative but to soldier on. How do we find sunshine amidst such storms? "The Anatomy of Peace" presents a retrospective understanding of the …
Continue reading "The Anatomy of Peace- Conclusion (6-minute read)"
When I was young, people used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. As an elder, I find myself asking a related question, “How will my life matter?” I suppose we’re all hopeful our impact somehow extends beyond our lifetime. There’s an ancient Etruscan word for this, saeculum. Rebecca Solnit …
I’ve been reading, thinking, and journaling about the meaning of life for over thirty years. It’s my way of attempting to make sense of things. I had never shared my written thoughts with anyone until the pandemic hit and the world shut down. Sharing them wasn’t my idea! Doug knew I aspired to write a …
Before Julia headed off to college, she and I took a late summer father-daughter trip to Colorado to see The Dave Matthews Band at the Red Rocks Amphitheater. The show was fantastic! If you haven’t been to Red Rocks, you’re really missing something! The setting is stunning, and the acoustics are incredible. There was more …
The atoms in our bodies are billions and billions of years old. Scientists claim they were created at the beginning of the universe or later by nuclear fusion in the center of stars. How these atoms got here, and where they are going, is beyond my imagination. The concept of an atom was first …
I love to cook, but I find baking laborious. When I cook, I never use recipies. I get ideas from recipies, but following a recipe step by step ruins the whole experience. I prefer to cook on the “fly,” tasting as I go. This is a disasterous strategy for baking. Baking is chemistry rather than …
Not much progress was made at the recent climate summit in Glasgow. Our precocious 15-month-old Granddaughter put her finger on the reason! Adalyn has a limited vocabulary, but she understands a good portion of what we say. To ease frustration arising from the gap between her comprehension and verbal expression, our daughter taught her basic …
“I am his Highness’ dog at Kew; Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?” - English Poet, Alexander Pope (1688-1754) I first heard that line in a Jakob Dylan song. The question stuck! Who’s dog are you? It’s harsh but thought-provoking. Few of us dare to completely be who we are. We feel the …
Towards A Life Well-Lived 