Highlights
Sign up to subscribe and stay in-the-know!
SubscribeAll Blog Posts
Irrational Rationality
“Being irrational and out of control is what happens in real life. Not cautiously choreographing your anger or your emotions, losing yourself in them is what happens in real life.” Margot Robbie “Poetry involves the mysteries of the irrational perceived through rational words.” Vladimir Nabokov This week I had the pleasure of listening to a lecture on the historical roots and underlying ideas of Unitarian Universalism with my daughter, who is pursuing a degree Read More
Assumptions
I’m writing this post on a milestone birthday. I’m now in my ninth decade of life on this planet. One friend of over 50 years sent a picture of our younger years and wrote,
“These were the days we thought everything was possible. We assumed we would sing and dance forever and a day. The days have grown short, but the memories live forever. Nobody and nothing can take them away. Friendship is a rare and precious gift.”
Standards and Systems
“We’ve become, now, an oligarchy instead of a democracy. I think that’s been the worst damage to the basic moral and ethical standards to the American political system that I’ve ever seen in my life.” Jimmy Carter “States are not moral agents, people are, and can impose moral standards on powerful institutions.” Noam Chomsky “Right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rights and standards that have been critically examined and agreed Read More
Imposers and Exposers
I’ve been thinking about windows and mirrors lately, an educational concept created by scholar and educator Emily Style.
Windows allow readers to see into different lives and different ideas. Mirrors reflect a person’s own culture, ethnicity, and philosophy. As Sydney Harris, an American journalist and author, said:
“[M]ost people reflect the emotions of the time, while few open windows that bring light to dark places.”
In Defense of DEI
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is more than just a moral imperative; it’s a powerful driver of social and economic progress. While some argue that focusing on DEI is unnecessary or even detrimental, a wealth of research demonstrates the benefits of fostering inclusive environments in organizations and society at large. One of the most significant benefits of real DEI is its positive impact on economic growth. Keep reading to find out why and how this works.
When Loyalty is a Liability
Loyalty can morph from a valued quality to a blinding force that hinders intellectual growth and impedes progress. As Mark Twain suggests, being “loyal” to opinions that are no longer relevant impedes progress and freedom.
So what is the true power of loyalty? Where does its real value lie?
Radiance
I’ve been thinking about what it takes to bring a little light to an increasingly dark world. Fires, floods, fertility flops, and famines have become more frequent and more severe. The world seems to be shifting to the right fueled by populist rage based on false information. These rapidly changing trends are personal. We have friends whose house burned to the ground in California. They had just moved in two weeks ago and lost everything. Read More
Entertainment or Expertise
Today, less than half of U.S. adults read even just one book per year.
Is Chris Hayes right that our attention has become the focus of corporate manipulation?
If all our conscious thoughts are replaced by the buzz of beeps, notifications, and texts, how can we be more than just “bystanders to our minds”?
Hopelessly Flawed
In a blinding glimpse of the obvious, I recently had a revelation during my morning meditation. It finally struck me, on an emotional level, that we are all hopelessly flawed.
The pressure to be perfect is immense. Constantly striving for an idealized self prevents us from connecting with others. Read more to find out how to harness the power of vulnerability to connect authentically and find the courage to be seen.
Commodities or Communities
Every day presents us with choices, the most essential of which is how we spend our time and what paths we choose.
Sometimes our lives feel like a rolling stone – ups and downs over hills, through valleys, with no sense of place or permanence.
How can we find a sense of home?
When Winning is Losing
Ah, I thought I had finally found a topic on which several books had not already been written. Wrong again. When I searched Amazon for books entitled “When Winning is Losing”, several popped up. But surely, I thought, Google Gemini won’t be able to generate any ideas on this topic! Bingo. In one second it came up with several examples. Oh well, I consoled myself, at least I can still provide my unique view on Read More
Mysteries and Miracles
Throughout history, humans have grappled with the ineffable, seeking to understand the universe and our place within it. Science sometimes can’t explain experience. The belief in miracles make life simpler, whereas understanding mysteries make life more complex. Keep reading to find out more about the differences between miracles and mysteries.
The Seduction of Distraction
In a conversation with my granddaughter about a movie we had recently scene suggesting that every decision we make is an opportunity to bring our best self to whatever moment we are in, she said, “It’s hard to bring the best of who you are to each moment when you have to drag along the rest of you who are into that moment.” How can we continue to dance in harmony with the world when it’s so cacophonous, churning, distracting and discordant?
Leadership Humility, Honesty, and Humor
One could say that I have been a bit obsessed with leadership and learning for most of my life, and I finally came to the conclusion that great leaders could be distinguished by three simple characteristics. Read more to find out.
Hanging onto Hope
Our twin grandchildren just celebrated their 13th birthday as thriving and loving young adults full of potential and promise. Passing this milestone made me think back to the first 105 days of their lives which were spent in the NICU. Each day we hung onto the hope that we might be able to celebrate who they would become one day. When they turned one, I wrote a poem entitled the Sun has Come Out describing Read More
Homeless Solutions and Models
How communities address homelessness issues provides a great example of what happens when you chase symptoms instead of change systems that are causing problems in the first place. Finding solutions to help people experiencing homelessness presents the same kinds of challenges communities face in dealing with health, criminal justice, poverty, inflation, immigration, climate change, gun violence, etc. The choice always involves investing in ways to improve the systems creating the problems vs. dealing with symptom Read More
Arcs of Life, History, and the Universe
Well, it’s not quite like being hit by a meteor that destroys the earth, but it’s pretty close to it. We just elected a cult leader who landed enough hateful and hegemonic messages to enough voters to win the electoral votes by 312-226. (Note: Trump’s margin was less than 2%, and he received less than 50% of the vote, llinois was the only blue state on the electoral map between the coasts, and the total Read More
Grace or Disgrace
In Nexus, Yuval Harari concludes that the difference between democracies and dictatorships lies in how they handle information. Systems, whether human or artificial, can evolve and self-correct when they promote conversation and mutuality and that they devolve when they give into blind subservience.
Grief and Grievance
I’m not sure I can turn the grief I may feel on November 6 into a garden of compassion, as Rumi suggests. Keeping my heart open no matter what happens might be a challenge too great for me to handle to continue my search for love and wisdom. To prepare for the possibility of needing to confront that challenge, I thought it might be helpful to explore the reasons behind the grief I might feel…
American Myths and Realities
Homelessness, a harsh reality for millions of people around the world, is often shrouded in misconceptions. These myths create a barrier to understanding the complexities of the issue and hinder efforts to address the problems. This overview dismantles some of the most pervasive myths surrounding homelessness and reveals the human stories that lie beneath.
The Common Good
We have been reduced to a “whatever-it-takes-to win” mentality.
As a result, we have a rigged system that perpetuates inequality, enables economic elites, and undermines trust in institutions.
What it would take to increase commitment to the common good?
Change and Choice
The evolution and acceleration of AI technologies has convinced me that we no longer have a choice about whether or not we change. The only question is, will we ride the waves of change to better lives, or will we drown in them by not asking the right questions or making the choices that change demands?
I will show how AI can help us take all those steps more efficiently and effectively.
The Material and the Ethereal
“In a way, you are poetry material; You are fully of cloudy subtleties I am willing to spend a lifetime figuring out. Words burst in your essence and you carry their dust in the pores of your ethereal individuality.” —Franz Kafka “The spirit-world around this senseFloats like an atmosphere, and everywhereWafts through these earthly mists and vapors denseA vital breath of ethereal air” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “Music is the ethereal connection between this world and the Read More
The Dangers of Demonization
“People aren’t terrible, systems are.” —Zadie Smith
I’ve been thinking deeply about the dangers of demonization.
Demonization is an easy means of simplifying the complexities of human behavior by reducing individuals or groups to caricatures of pure evil.
What kinds of situations and assumptions lead to this way of thinking, and what are the consequence?