ten.
Ten commandments! I grew up going to church on Sundays. We were Protestant (if that matters to you). We were told all the stories. The dos and don’ts. We were told what to believe, what was right, and what was wrong. Eventually I became me. I changed, and I decided to think for myself. … Read more
Love isn’t a day.
Love isn’t a day. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not much a fan of holidays. Why celebrate our dads only on fathers’ day? Why celebrate moms only on mothers’ day? Give thanks only on thanksgiving? Bosses? Secretaries? Presidents? Veterans? Why does Martin Luther King, Jr. get a day, but not Louis Pasteur … Read more
fearlessness.
Fearlessness, trust, and caring. Those are some magical words. More than words… Traits. Behaviors. States of being. Secret and powerful incantations… Let me explain. We had a meeting at work about a week ago, and during part of it, we talked about one of our primary job responsibilities, and some of us were tasked with … Read more
What is the cost of kindness?
What is the cost of kindness? It’s free. It takes nothing away from us. But so many treat it like the most hoard-worthy commodity the world has ever seen. I watch people act so selfishly all the time… “I’m grumpy, so I’ll act that way and I don’t care what it does to you. I’m … Read more
be careful what you keep.
It’s interesting how many things in our lives can be a sort of window into who we really are… our deeper personalities, our quirks, our passions, our faults. I can think of several at the moment. The inside of your car (if you have one). Your bag. Your wallet. Your computer desktop. Your locker (again, if you … Read more
create peace.
The paintbrush is also mightier than the sword. The pen, the pencil, the keyboard, the microphone, the camera… anything that lets us communicate our thoughts without violence against another. All mightier. Not that you can’t bend any of these tools toward the violent – I’ve seen that more times than necessary – but at their … Read more
privacy please.
Passing through the boundaries of privacy is dangerous business! We shout to the world that we are the country of openness and freedom… But we really have just as many secrets as everybody else. The world is full of them, from the very smallest (the secrets of quantum mechanics) to the every day secrets (the … Read more
calling all gentlemen.
Where have all the gentlemen gone? I taught myself to tie a bow tie last night. I feel like this was a life achievement, up there with traveling Europe, climbing Mount Everest racing cars and piloting a plane. So much of what is considered gentlemanly has been sadly forgotten. Some say chivalry is dead. I … Read more
pathways.
Make your own path. It’s not easy. Walking in the footprints of others is much easier. The decisions have been made for you. They are tried and true. They are safe. They are predictable, and they let you know what to expect… They are ruts. But in the beginning there were no footprints there at … Read more
seed to stem.
We all start as a seed. This is the beginning of a Japanese maple tree. A tree that will become a carefully sculpted bonsai one day. We all are like that. We start as a seed, and grow according to our nature for a while. Some of us germinate in wild soil, and untended, we … Read more
knock first.
Knock loud, I’m home. There are so many doors in life. Most of them we never try. Some might have nothing behind them. Some might lead to a whole new world. We choose. Recklessly or carefully. Sometimes we simply stand at the door and endlessly debate… And that itself is our decision. Sometimes we choose … Read more
so many.
So many lights. So many people. Do you ever feel the weight of it? There are thousands and thousands of people out there. Each one has a life full of struggle, joy, love, pain, passion, disappointment, happiness, tears… So much. Repeated over and over again nearly into the infinite. It makes you stop and think. You … Read more
the animals.
Nest. Human beings are the only species that can be truly homeless. Sure there are “homeless” dogs, cats, chimps, owls, and a myriad of other creatures out there, but only because we say they are. I’m pretty sure they don’t think of themselves that way. They just think “this is how and where I currently … Read more
shadows.
The shadow knows! While waiting for my train today the sun was bright enough for the first time in a while to actually cast a good shadow. It felt like spring was just around the corner. Sometimes we forget that there’s always another side to things. We attach judgements to the world around us, but … Read more
unplugged.
Lights out! Oh no! Imagine a world unplugged. It’s really hard to do. So much would change. No Internet. No computers. No phones. No radio. No music unless it’s live or on vinyl. No light at night unless it’s fire. No refrigeration. No heat unless it’s fire. Whoa. Our world would be utterly different. But … Read more
no!
No. No, no, no. No-no. No! Have you ever thought about how many times a day we see or hear that word? No? So many times. Why are we all so obsessed with the negative? I’m not suggesting we abolish it completely – the word no certainly has its place – but can’t we be … Read more
leap.
Take the leap! How often have you wished for another day, another hour, or even a few more minutes so you could finish something? How many times have you thought, “I’d do _____ if I just had more time.”? Well you do. Time is a funny thing. It’s pretty much just made up. This year we … Read more
