Strength, courage, and wisdom And it’s been inside of me all along Strength, courage, and wisdom Inside of me… India Arie I don’t think there is any question but that 2020 was one of the toughest years on record. Was it for you? It certainly was for me. The year brought one challenge after another – personally and professionally. Everything shut down so quickly! We thought it was going to last a few weeks… and now it’s been over a … read more »
Let Freedom Ring
Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington in which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his magnificent “I Have a Dream” speech – one of most inspiring and important speeches in history. In anticipation, I just read the full text of the speech again, and link to it here. There are some lines that we have heard over and again, and which we need to hear over and again. But there are a few others … read more »
Will the law catch up?
The papers have been rife with stories this week about New York’s new law allowing same-sex marriage. It couldn’t have come at a more poignant time – 2 days before Gay Pride day. People have described the mood there as unadulterated joy – one friend even told me, “I haven’t experienced anything like that since the March on Washington” — meaning the 1963 march in which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. It is … read more »
What Makes a Good Marriage
I just finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, Committed, which is a modern look at marriage. (You know her as the author of Eat, Pray, Love). She has an interesting take on it, in part because she has an international perspective. And she delightfully weaves her personal story with more global views, much of which come from Stephanie Coontz‘ more scholarly research. Marriage for love is a relatively new phenomenon – in the past it was much more about property … read more »
Compassion and Mediation
I am taking a course this weekend from Zoketsu Norman Fisher – a Zen Buddhist priest, and a teacher of meditation. In preparation, I read an article he wrote entitled, “Developing Compassion.” He writes, “to be narrowly self-interested and self-identified is simply a very dangerous and unhappy way to live – the wider your interest and larger your sense of identity, the happier and the stronger you will be.” And this reminds me of words of my mediation teachers, Jack … read more »
Where are We?
President-elect Obama. Was the election really only 9 days ago? Doesn’t it seem as though the whole world has changed since then? It’s as though we have a whole new outlook, a new range of possibilities that didn’t exist before. You knew the moment was coming, but didn’t realize how profound a shift it would be until it really got here. How could it be? Many of my friends are strangely quiet, introspective, trying to get used to this new … read more »
Obama (the Mediator) for President
“The change we need isn’t just about new programs and policies. It’s about a new politics – a politics that calls upon our better angels instead of encouraging our worst instincts; one that reminds us of the obligations we have to ourselves and one another.” — Barack Obama, Canton, Ohio, October 27, 2008. Mediation calls upon our “better angels.” And in mediation we learn to see a problem through another person’s eyes. In the family mediation that I practice, we … read more »