When I visualize the idea of self-restraint, it is not a dramatic surrealist painting of a man on never ending stairs, nor is it a depiction of someone locking themselves in a cell and swallowing the key, I see a simple picture of a person with their hands folded. Sometimes we simply curb our will […]
Sometimes I will go to a friends house and attached to their bathroom mirror I might see a little post-it note that says something like “You are beautiful.” In the dashboard of their car I find another note that says “You are worth it.” and I know these are affirmations that help them remember important […]
What do we really mean when we say “my ” ? You can’t mean that when you say “those are my shoes ” that you are speaking in the same way as when you say “those are my parents” or even “this is my country”, can you? I have always wondered about the implications of […]
After last month’s US Government shut down with another deadline soon approaching. We find that compromise is a not always possible with even the most accomplished negotiators and politicians. In some cases meeting in the middle is very easy, it comes in the form of haggling over vintage store threads, or deciding who among friends hosts a […]
I find ironic that we are so focused on New Year’s Resolution at the beginning of the year. When we think of resolve, it harkens ideas of closure. But in January of every year we are doing anything but settling things, we are rustling them up. It is time for us to make good on […]
When we talk of freedom, of liberty, and agency we talk of the ability to shape a reality that is aligned with our vision of how the world should be. Last month, we looked at our definition of goodness and our ideal reality. When we talk of struggle, we point to the hardship that we must endure […]
How do you know what is “good” ? It is one of the oldest questions we have on record, and there are several answers. It depends on what we are talking about actually right? If we mean a piece of cake, we might mean that it tastes sweet, moist, and fluffy. But that much carbs […]
As offensive as it may seem for someone to tell you to “relax” when you are in a crisis, they are actually right. The reasoning for them dolling out this advice is usually ill intentions and it is often given without tact which perfectly explains why it creates the opposite effect in people. But if […]
Nothing in the modern world has been created without great care and attention to detail. Whether the intricate weavings of a waterproof wicker basket or the complicated web of transistors that make up a computer board each has very specific parameters that allow it to function. The same is true for our social system as […]
These days we are bombarded by so much information that we literally can’t. We can’t consume it all, we can’t even derive meaning from all that we consume, and we can’t extract value from all of the meaning. So sometimes, rationale leaves us with only more complicated questions when it comes to how we should view […]