Archive for Year: 2024
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?
Confidence and Competence
One of the best pieces of feedback I ever received was when an honest friend said, “Sometimes your confidence exceeds your competence.” As painful as that feedback was, it made me more conscious of the level of confidence I project when I assert an opinion or decide to take on a task for which I may not be entirely prepared. For example, I often observe myself giving directions or offering an opinion on a subject Read More
Locked and Loaded
“Locking” and “loading” refer to steps in preparing a machine gun to be fired: You first “lock” the bolt or safety and then “load” an ammunition cartridge or magazine. Figuratively, to be “locked and loaded” is to be fully prepared for aggressive action. As parents and grandparents, we are always looking for ways to keep our kids out of danger’s way and to avoid aggressive action. There are two messages I would love to be Read More
The Price of Privilege
I was born with privilege. I think it’s fair to say that I grew up expecting things to go my way.
While it is true that privilege pays, there is also a price to pay for too much privilege.
Read more to find out what the cost of privilege is.
The Olympics of Culture Change
I must admit that I became somewhat obsessed with the Paris Olympics over its two week run. As I was watching the closing ceremonies, I was struck by the elegance and eloquence of the final speakers who were about to peacefully transfer the responsibilities for the 2028 Olympics to the United States. In a beautifully crafted and moving speech, Tony Estanquet, the Paris 24 President, led off: “With the first medals, a wave started building. Read More
Individual vs. Cultural
To get at the root cause of any problem, a helpful question to ask is, “is this problem primarily caused by an individual or is it the result of the culture in which the problem is occurring?” Answering that question fairly and accurately usually leads to a clearer perspective on the direction required to solve the problem. Perspective is important. During my morning meditation, I always give thanks for the First Light that occurred 14 Read More
Why We are Stuck in the Muck
It seems to me that the conditions for change have become much more challenging in the last 20 years.
Every day brings new stories of extremism growing, disinformation proliferating, inequality widening, and fear simmering. In the midst of growing trends and shrinking standards, the question is:
How do we get ourselves out of this muck?
Meaningless Minutes or Magical Moments
“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.” —Alan Watts “I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” —Brene Brown “Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.” —Rose Kennedy “If you abandon the present moment, you cannot live the Read More
The Strength to Carry On
Released almost 50 years ago, in the aftermath of the American War in Vietnam, this song by Kansas still captures our experience today. Carry on my wayward son There’ll be peace when you are done Lay your weary head to rest Don’t you cry no more Once I rose above the noise and confusion Just to get a glimpse of this illusion I was soaring ever higher But I flew too high Though Read More
Ruthless, Relentless, and Remorseless
“A dictator may hereafter arise, who laying hold of popular disquietudes, may collect together the desperate and the discontented, and by assuming to themselves the powers of government, may sweep away the liberties of the continent like a deluge.” Thomas Paine, 1776 “If we are to have another contest of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon’s but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and Read More