Here in Boston we have suffered a difficult and seemingly endless winter. Frigidly cold temperatures and mountains of snow—over 100 inches in just the last 8 weeks alone! There’s been plenty of collateral damage for many people, in the form of lost work, lost school, lost income, the breakdown of the public transportation system and other infrastructure elements, increased costs for everything, especially snow removal, heat, and repairs, and more—all adding to the cumulative stress that comes with enduring such a long and bitter winter. In the midst of all this I had a quite unexpected … [Read more...]
How To Be Here
As we embark upon 2015, I share with you some simple wisdom from the Lakota people, beautifully summing up "How to Be Here". Lakota Code of Ethics: Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy - and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for … [Read more...]
The Steve Jobs Conundrum: Difficult People With Great Accomplishments
Over the winter I read the authorized biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, written by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster 2011). And I have been puzzling for two months now over this question: How to reconcile the nasty, very often heartless, and narcissistic traits of Steve Jobs with his great accomplishments. What explains, or justifies, success at the expense of others, and how do we integrate this into a spiritual understanding of how to succeed as whole individuals, spiritually and morally developed? Walter Isaacson, hand picked by Jobs to be his official biographer, pulls no … [Read more...]
Free Will
Free will is complicated. We all have it, and we all want it—as long as it is our own free will we are exercising. But it is more difficult when someone else is exercising their own free will—against our interests or better judgment. Whether it is a two year old throwing a tantrum or self-governing nations in armed dispute, it comes down to a battle of wills. Of course we agree to submit to the will of others in many ways, for good reasons. So the parent must teach and protect the two year old, and in doing so denies the child her will, and properly so. Likewise, to organize ourselves … [Read more...]
It Is About Being
You never know where or when or how a little insight might find its way into your consciousness. And sometimes it comes in the least likely places. I had just such an experience recently, while I was traveling in France. This is a true story of human nature, of love and regret, of life and experience, and of hope and comfort. It was such a touching encounter, I was moved to write about it as it unfolded. Thus it is written in the present tense. I want to share it with you. I am on the train from Cannes to Paris, and while the countryside is captivating, the story going on in the seat "en … [Read more...]
Whatever Happened to Summertime?
Remember when summer used to be a time when we slowed down? Days were longer and often more lazy? It was a time when taking it easy, or at least easier, was expected and accepted. Where did that go? I have been noticing over the last few weeks how many people are not taking down time, even in the summer, and how stressed we are. Everything moves faster now—that is the price of technology—and we have become so accustomed to this acceleration that we don’t slow down like we used to. We are on a trajectory that hurtles forward on its own momentum much of the time. The problem with too … [Read more...]