It is difficult to find compassion in the world. Anger and hatred are everywhere. Compassion does appear in simple gestures, a stranger pausing to allow you into a line of cars or holding the door for you. A smile or…
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It is difficult to find compassion in the world. Anger and hatred are everywhere. Compassion does appear in simple gestures, a stranger pausing to allow you into a line of cars or holding the door for you. A smile or…
Read moreWe are all storytellers living the story we tell. We tell our story mostly to our self - an internal narrative casting our experiences in an endlessly looping documentary. If we dare to share our story with others, it is…
Read moreI sometimes feel as if my creative neural pathways are starting to calcify. I have a theory that our brains "calcify" as we age if we are not mindful. Perhaps not in terms of actual calcium deposits, but in that…
Read moreSometimes life feels like Groundhog Day. Not the popping up out of a hole looking for your shadow Groundhog Day but the Bill Murray every day just repeats itself plot of Groundhog Day the movie.
It is easy…
Read moreLike it or not, we all have a brand. How we look, sound and feel to others. Maybe it's crass and commercial to consider it a "brand" so use another word - personality or character - if that makes…
Read morePhoto by Lee Pigott on Unsplash
Rhythm is an essential part of music - finding the groove, laying down a beat. We all have an innate sense of rhythm - just watch a child when music starts playing or…
Read moreI'm grateful for silence. The opportunity to be mindful of silence when it occurs, allowing it to quiet my mind. If just for a moment.
Silence is elusive. Try to find a place in your day where you…
Read moreI'm grateful for questions. Too often I find myself accepting the status quo when I know much more is possible. Questioning myself stirs my curiosity and motivates me to seek the truth of things. Truth can be an elusive…
Read moreI am grateful for my journal. After a few false starts over the course of my life, last November I began a daily journal. I am now on my sixth journal having filled more than 800 pages with handwritten…
Read morePhoto by Feliphe Schiarolli on Unsplash
I am grateful for my education. For the transformative teachers I've had - Mrs. Baxter, Mrs. Morrison and Mrs. Raymond in elementary school - Mr. Chan, Mr. Tomita and Miss Morrison in…
Read moreI am a master of procrastination. It is one of a few things I do really well. Is procrastination just laziness or is there more to it?
Much of it is rooted in fear - fear of the unknown…
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I been trying to adopt the mantra of "just love". I think it reduces the human experience to its purest and most simple level. Just love myself, just love my situation, just love those around me... just love.…
Read moreI've always had an interest in comedy. My earliest comedic performances took place in elementary school classrooms where I was quick with a zinger in response to what was happening around me. It often got me into trouble with the…
Read moreIt's difficult to let go of things.
You've probably noticed this if you've ever moved, decluttered or had to deal with decommissioning an estate. Objects and items retain deep emotional attachments even when their functional value has long passed…
Read more"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden"
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Whether guided by faith or internal desire for change, personal growth and renewal is a worthwhile, lifelong pursuit. There is much to learn from the…
Read moreIt is easy to end something that requires effort. Especially when faced with an indifferent world that values shallow insight, social approval and immediate gratification over deeper analysis, individualism and positive change. It is easier to fill the day with…
Read moreI am easily distracted. Distracted by technology. Distracted by desire for acceptance. Distracted by culture that drives me to ignorance instead of understanding, competition instead of compassion, rejection instead of acceptance. Hatred not love. Distraction not awareness.
I am…
Read moreI was excessively shy as a youngster and would also instantaneously blush beet red at the slightest social provocation. There were many awkward moments when I probably looked like I'd been out in the sun too long.
It took…
Read moreThe Internet can be a dangerous place for an inquisitive mind. I have to restrain myself sometimes or risk wasting a lot of time chasing information. I'll go online to quickly look something up and an hour later I'm watching…
Read moreHow do you define being professional? Is it simply that professionals share their skills for money and an amateur does it for love and/or pleasure? Do professionals not love what they do? Can an amateur not accept money for something…
Read moreCriticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
- Aristotle
It is inevitable that if you are a creator of any sort, you will encounter criticism. The reality is that we all…
Read moreTime and familiarity anesthetizes our sense of wonder. You only have to observe a young child to see what looking at a world full of wonder is really like. As time passes we fall into familiar routines in familiar places…
Read moreI've often wondered what the evolutionary purpose of anger is as a human emotion. Was it meant to incite us to defend ourselves more effectively against a real physical threat? Anger can, although not always, result in hostility and violence…
Read moreOver time computers slow down and operate less effectively. Fortunately they can just be rebooted. Rebooting removes all the unnecessary processes that accumulate over time and loads a fresh copy of the operating system. Can we do the same to…
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