Listening is something we usually do while doing something else. TV is a good example. It’s often left on as background noise, like packing peanuts filled in around higher priorities for attention. Want to give someone a gift they will love? Try listening to them. It's not as easy as it sounds. To really …
The Search For Meaning
Contrary to popular belief, truth is not synonymous with fact. We see the world not as it is, but as we are, something the fact-checkers miss. Facts rule the head telling us what things are but not what they mean. Meaning resides in the heart, and without it, we lose our way. Joseph Cambell …
Loneliness
Sometimes life resembles the two ants floating downstream on a log, thinking they're steering. We rarely have as much control over life as we think. The past year was proof. In the song "Big Yellow Taxi," Joni Mitchel sang; "Don't it always seem to go,that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone." We …
Belonging
Recently while cleaning out my office, I stumbled across my high school yearbook. Our high school was very “clique-ish.” I was not one of the cool kids. In middle school, kids were just kids. By the time we reached high school, a rigid caste system splintered us into factions. A few of my good buddies …
The Power of We
During the recent inauguration, I heard the term his-story substituted for history, which of course, was about to change. I never thought about that before, but it struck me as an accurate description of the past. I've spent years tracing our family's genealogy. The easiest way to do that is to go straight back along …
Half-Way There
I've kept a personal journal for over thirty years. I've never shown it to anyone. Recently, it occurred to me that there was a decent chance no one would ever see it. After dad passed away, my sister and I took responsibility for getting rid of his stuff. It was an emotionally draining task. Some …
Living In The Moment
I still remember the last day of sixth grade. I went to a K-6 school. Sixth graders were at the top of the food chain. The “little kids” looked at us with a mixture of respect and fear, which was not lost on us! Staring out the window, I thought to myself, ”I’m a big …
What Matters.
What makes us who we are? The renowned physicist Brian Greene recently wrote a piece in the New York Times addressing why art matters. He concludes: “Whereas the patterns of math and science matter because they speak to qualities of reality that exist beyond us, the patterns of art matter because they speak to qualities …
Learning the Two-Step
When I was a youngster, one of the biggest thrills in life was getting a new pair of sneakers. In those days, Keds were what the cool kids wore. My parents watched their finances pretty closely, so I usually got a discount brand. Every once in a while, though, Mom came through. Such was the …
Can Opposites Attract?
Music is a big part of my life. I love the sound made by musical instruments, but it's the silence between notes that defines a song. A jazz trio with perfectly timed silence is a wondrous thing to experience. I am very fond of photography, as well. One needs light to make a picture. But …
Towards A Life Well-Lived 