My Two Cents
Addiction––specifically addiction to beliefs––may be the primary impediment to human evolution. Or, turning it around, the obstacle that yields the greatest rewards. At issue: how we define reality and how ferociously we hold on to that definition. There’s reason to smile. Read More
As a guy who graduated next-to-last in his high school class yet found himself at Amherst, one of the nation’s elite colleges, where the only thing I knew for sure was that I could work my ass off, few principles have been more valuable than this from the late champion of non-violent communication, Marshall Rosenberg:
Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.
Generally, many of us find that a bit counter-intuitive. Our natural inclination would suggest that there’s hardly a greater aspiration than to be highly accomplished at something––from growing potatoes to loving our children.
And sure, well developed skills can be invaluable––especially if we’re on the receiving end: heart transplants, wedding cakes, skydiving instruction, family quarrel mediation. The list is encyclopedic.
But linking our self-regard to our ability to produce an outcome of a superior nature is risky business if you ask me. Striving for it is noble. Needing to get it is death. There’s only so much room at the top. Besides, our performance compared to that of others is always out of our control. And to be attached to anything out of our control is basically a commitment to misery. Read More
While improving society is a noble aspiration much in demand today, its achievement is greatly determined by who each of us brings to the table––i.e., how we manage ourselves.
Conversely, our immaturity in managing ourselves is the reason society needs so much help. Even those of us hot to change the world often show up wearing the cement shoes of judgment, blame, and any of the other accoutrements of unmanaged fear.
Why is this? I, of course, do not know. But I have a guess at what might be a top contributor. Our inability and/or unwillingness to be responsible for our feelings. Read More
The movement stirring within our nation’s youth in response to the gun-slinging slaughter of their peers might be the tipping point of a transformation that has been smoldering since we elected the man with no soul. (At least not one he has access to.)
Should this movement take flight, here may be some of the reasons. Read More
For those who understand that exploring remote and dangerous places is always an inner as well as an outer journey, Pemako, a region bordering Tibet and India that includes river gorges three times the depth of the Grand Canyon, has been called, for centuries, the supreme of all hidden-lands. Read More
"I honor that we are killing the earth for the same reason I consider being an alcoholic a privilege: it is a doorway to the profound self-understanding required to make truly healthy choices."
The Essay: Honoring the Killing of the Earth
