Growth
Please be seated.
I went to get a flu shot and signed up online to schedule it because I’m a millennial and no I will not “just show up.” The online system asked if I wanted to be on the Texas Immunization Registry and something in my bones felt a familiar wave of “AHH sheeet.” I’ve never been (…)
The music will be wonderful
Something strange happened to me that you’re going to laugh at when I tell you because it’s not *actually* that strange but it jolted me out of whatever funk I’ve been in for weeks if not months: I hung out with someone who was optimistic. Sincerely. Honestly. GENUINELY. Hopeful. His worldview was one of seeing (…)
At least he’s consistent
They say it is a mark of intelligence to be able to change your mind. Watching the news [which you should not] you’d think the opposite. “Flip flopper!” gets lobbed against political candidates as a sign of non-reliability. A mark against you. When really, it’s the hallmark of a good leader. When you vote for (…)
Can We Have More of This? On The Skills That Make For a Better Society
To my knowledge, I have never once modeled the behavior of flushing public toilets that were not used by me. My daughter (she’s five) tells me, “There are a lot of poops in the bathroom at school and people just leave them there.” I listened wondering why, of all the things to share about your (…)
Apology Demands Admission (My Annual Yom Kippur Sermon)
Yom Kippur is coming up which means it’s time for my annual sermon on forgiveness. This year I’m going to tell you a less-known fact about the tradition and assert something that appears on the surface sacrilegious but hear me out. You do not have to forgive. The commandment is to ask for forgiveness. Not (…)
A Plea
Today I write with a plea. Don’t quit. I’m watching so many people around me turn to stone. They quit. They quit trying, chasing, wanting. They quit caring. Life has, understandably, taken them down. Life will always do its best to erode your soul and often it succeeds. I worry about people like us who (…)
Clear is Kind: Why You Should Endure The Discomfort of Being Direct
There is no such thing as a friendly reminder. “Friendly reminders” are passive-aggressive roundabout ways of avoiding direct communication and clarifying your position. There are fascinating reasons why we do this, which Dr. Harriett Lerner, Patron Saint Of All Things Anger, talks about in detail here. The gist is that many of us avoid conflict (…)