The Parable of the Match

I could tell you – in painstaking detail, I could tell you – about the moment of ignition, the sounds and smells and burst of nothing into dancing flame as the match transformed from potential energy to kinetic. I could explain to you the way the match slid across the...

Imperfect Activism

I haven’t eaten at Chic-fil-a or Cracker Barrel for years now. I’ve never shopped at Hobby Lobby. Where once Amazon was a go-to for me, it’s not a shopping spot of last resort. Theresa and I may place orders there maybe twice a year these days. Which is to say: Even...

Practicing Being Pervious: A Route to a Bigger Heart

It is the rare occasion, indeed, when I run across an opportunity to listen to Ross Gay that I don’t take it and quickly. So I was finishing up lunch the other day and saw a 15-minute interview with him on NPR in which he describes being moved, as in emotionally. He...

Flowing with Emotions: A Practical Guide

Thirty-six hours after I proposed to Theresa in 2019, I noticed my inner critics, my Innerlings, get loud and ornery. They told me things like that I should be embarrassed to announce my engagement given my previous divorce; they asked me how I had the gall to imagine...

The (Freaked Out) Farmer and the Horse

There’s an old Zen story that gets a lot of traction in the world of personal development. You’ve probably heard it before. It goes a little something like this: See, there’s this farmer in this village. He’s got this horse who is integral to his ability to run his...

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