Author: Rick Bellingham

A gentle breeze, a whispered plea,“Grow, grow, grow,” you say to me.A tiny seed, in fertile ground,A future bright, all around.  With sun and rain, a patient hand,I heed your call, across the land.From humble root to reaching high,I touch the sky, as seasons fly. So whisper on, that soft command,To grow, grow, grow, hand in hand.For in this growth, a beauty lies,Reflected in my open eyes “Every Blade of Grass Has Its Angel that Read More

“Compassion is not hereditable. It can and therefore must be taught. The teaching of compassion, the exercise of the soul, will open the heart. And then nothing will be impossible.”   Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp “Compassion is a organizing principle for business leaders, government leaders, arts and culture, humanitarians – you need a working principle, especially when the world is colliding into each other every day”.  Salman Ahmad “In a world where force is too often the Read More

  “Disinformation is more than just lying: it’s the denial and twisting of reality in order to present some desired image to the rest of the world.”  Will Hurd, an American politician, former CIA officer, and Texas representative in the US House.  “Refusal to believe until proof is given is a rational position; denial of all outside of our own limited experience is absurd.” Annie Besant, an English socialist, theosophist, freemason, women’s rights and Home Read More

  J. B. Pritzer, Governor of Illinois, struck the right tone in his recent address in New Hampshire: “Standing for the idea that the government doesn’t have the right to kidnap you without due process is arguably the MOST EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGN SLOGAN IN HISTORY,” “Today, it’s an immigrant with a tattoo. Tomorrow, it’s a citizen whose Facebook post annoys Trump.”  Pritzer may be right.  I’m glad he is speaking out, AND we need stronger narratives Read More

When I turned 70, my daughter Rebecca, said, “Dad, you should stop writing books and start a blog.”  Since, I highly value her perspective, I replied, “Good idea.”  Now, as I have turned 80, I can look back on the 399 essays I posted on this blog during that decade and review the topics addressed.  I decided to organize all of them into an accessible format and to use the alphabet as the organizing construct, Read More

In a recent NYT article,  Roger Rosenblatt, age 85, shared his 10 secrets for growing old happily.  Here’s his list with my brief interpretations.  Nobody’s thinking about you. Get over yourself. Make young friends. Connect with people who have a fresh perspective and who are thinking more about living than dying. Try to see fewer than five doctors. Don’t let your life revolve around Dr. visits. Get a dog. Find a source of unconditional positive Read More

“You can’t heal what you don’t acknowledge.” Jack Cornfield “When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.”  Bayard Rustin, organizer of 1963 March on Washington for Civil Rights “A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.”  Mark Twain “The defining characteristic of love is specificity.  To be seen accurately in all our freakish particularity Read More

“Interdependence is no longer our choice. It’s our condition. Our only choice is whether we forge healthy interdependencies and rise together or maintain unhealthy interdependencies and fall together.” Dov Siedman “Abundance is a determination to align our collective genius with the needs of both the planet and each other.” Ezra Klein   I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard time finding an abundance of hope for our planet in this blizzard of Read More

“A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living.”  Eleanor Roosevelt “Simple can be harder than complex:  You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.”  Steve Jobs “The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity.”  Douglas Horton It’s always good to know who and what you are dealing with when you try to create a response to a complex problem.  I’ve found that asking questions helps Read More

“In the sky, it unfolded in its ancient way, untouched by the storms gathering on a wounded planet.”  Margaret Renkl   I just realized that the last 10 posts I have written have been about Trump – the wounds he has inflicted on the planet and the existential crisis he has caused.   I was shocked and dismayed.  He is the last person I want to be writing about even if he does provide perfect fodder Read More

Finally!  When I landed on cultural calibration as a post-worthy topic, I googled it to see how many articles and books had already been written on the subject.  None!   Frankly, I was a bit shocked because, to me, it may be one of the most important constructs in organizational change. If you don’t understand the culture in which a change is being implemented, the chances for success are very low.  Think Vietnam.  Think Iraq.  Read More

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” Albert Einstein “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” Martin Luther King, Jr.   I loved playing cards when I was growing up. I have fond memories of playing Read More