Blog Posts — Page 9

I was recently browsing through some files and stumbled across a piece I had written in April 2013, before I started writing this blog.  It was a reflection about a trip I had taken to the Holy Land to deepen my understanding of Jewish history, to get a better understanding of the conflict brewing there, and to discover some potential paths to peace.  I thought I would share it here because it still seems relevant.   Read More

What if there was a magic pill that filled you with hope, fueled your innovative juices, and enabled you to trust the people and organizations that impact your life? Sadly, there’s no magic pill, but this possibility is a choice you can make.  In this post, I want to suggest that you have the power to create norms of your own choosing…

The underlying cause of many of our overlaying issues is our culturally reinforced tendency to be more emphatic than empathic.  In this post, I explore this idea more deeply through asking some key questions.

Even though there are dozens of columns describing the recent protests through different sets of lenses, I decided to share my perspective because I was involved in the seeds of this movement 56 years ago in Vietnam.

America was founded with the purpose of creating liberty and justice for all.  Millions of people around the country pledge their allegiance to that purpose in schools, athletic events, and government meetings still today.  And yet, based on budget allocations, the US is essentially an insurance company with a military.  What does that say about our purpose? 

On April 8, 2024, the day of the Great Eclipse, people around the world experienced the differential effects of identity and infinity.  Children, adults, republicans, democrats, blacks, browns, and whites all experienced the magical, mystical and mysterious possibilities in our ever-expanding universe.  This is what happens when infinity dominates. 

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being.  With freedom comes responsibility.  For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his or her own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”  —Eleanor Roosevelt “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” —Martin Luther King, Jr. “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.”  —Voltaire “The only Read More

“Donald, following the lead of my grandfather and with the complicity, silence, and inaction of his siblings, destroyed my father.  I can’t let him destroy my country.”  Mary L. Trump “I came to poetry through the urgent need to denounce injustice, exploitation, and humiliation.  I know that’s not enough to change the world.  But to remain silent would have been an intolerable complicity.”  Tahar Ben Jelloun, a Moroccan writer One of my favorite songs is Read More

“The wise man looks into space, and does not regard the small as too little, not the great as too big; for he knows that there is no limit to dimensions.”  Lao Tsu A dear friend of mine just passed away.  She was 76 years old and had been struggling with dementia.  She recently suffered a fall and related complications.  She died in peace in a beautiful hospice setting surrounded by her loving family.  She Read More

“These are the times that try men’s souls.”  Thomas Paine “The science of psychology has been far more successful on the negative side than on the positive side . . . It has revealed to us much about human shortcomings, illnesses, and sins, but little about human potentialities, virtues, aspirations, or health.”  Abraham Maslow “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community.  Our ambitions must be broad enough Read More