It’s been fun to look back on 2024 and see how much has really changed for me on the inside this past year. Here are the themes of my year: Unlearning Learning has been one of the throughlines of my life. I love learning enough to have gutted out a Ph.D., and to have dragged […]

It dawned on me recently that I need more romance in my life. But the kind of romance I’m talking about has nothing to do with my marriage or my love life. I first read “The Rhythm of Education” by philosopher Alfred North Whitehead (let’s call him ANW) back in 1989. I instantly loved it. […]

I remember the fun I had as a teacher many years ago whenever I would assign my students the article “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.” It’s a masterwork of stepping back and looking at our own culture through the innocent and fresh eyes of an anthropologist. The conversations that ensued were always filled with surprise […]

I’ve been a coach for more than 10 years, and over hundreds of conversations in that time, I’ve learned a lot about the pain, sometimes crushing and unbearable, that we experience as human beings. Tragic, violent, and horrible things happen to people. I have sat with people who have had these things happen to them, […]

I was talking with someone recently who was wanting support to break the cycle of overwhelmingly anxious thinking – the kind that swallows you up and makes it hard to carry on with life.  As I listened to the description of what it felt like in this person’s head, I thought of all the dogs […]

“Are we there yet?”  Chances are pretty good that you’ve experienced being a driver and hearing this question from the back seat.  Now imagine if you heard this not as a question, but as a statement.  “Are we there yet?” Oh no! We’re not there yet. Shit! I thought we’d be there by now. Oh […]

My heart aches for all the hurt, and hate, and loss, and grief that surrounds the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. And almost every time I talk with anyone about it, I am reminded of the danger of a single story.  If ever there was a story with layers and layers of complexity and nuance, trauma upon trauma, […]

The spiritual path has been so richly rewarding for me. It has saved me from my own over-thinking, it has led to an effortlessly beautiful marriage, and it has allowed glimpses into a deeper self that is always whole, unbroken, and okay.  And yet, despite 20 years of dedicated spiritual seeking, and some undeniably transcendent […]

Almost 2 years ago, I had this funny experience, which felt a little bit like realizing I had a nose on my face. Here’s how it went. I noticed Sumaya was doing all sorts of unusual “exercises,” often with accompanying sounds that I wasn’t used to hearing her make. From the other room, I’d hear […]