By trading, we performed one of the most profound acts of civilization in an uncivilized place. And in the act of trading my bit of civilization (oranges) for his (hot chocolate), we both gained civilization.
Category: The Life Apprenticeship
Face Up To Being Screwed Over (Do It For Your Kids)
It can make the prospect of being screwed over far less terrifying to know that some great good can come of it. Face up to being screwed over, and do it for the children – even if you don’t have any yet.
Incarnation: the Forgotten Second Step of Reading a Book
After going out on my own as a young man, I’ve stumbled on, chased down, or survived a range of adventures in human consciousness and action. Those things in books have actually come into my real, non-library life. I’ve learned something from all of this: you haven’t really finished reading a book until you lived it.
Accept the Fractured World
I can do my part to heal the world. But I don’t have to treat the fractures as flukes, ignore them, blame myself for them, or feel that they shouldn’t be part of the story. They will always be there in the back of my mind, but they will always be there pushing me to be ready to face challenges, to speak truth, and to defend my values.
Coming Home to the Office
Every morning I drive onto the exit for my office building. I bring my car up the drive. I pull into the parking garage and start the slow ascent. And all along the way, feel my heart go a little into my chest, which becomes just a little tighter than normal. Why?
Organize Social Media Around Your Quests, Not Yourself
Social media is so often full of stress, trolls, self-aggrandizement, and comparison. If you’re the kind of person who reads this blog, you probably agree. Maybe like me you’ve mostly let your social media accounts lie, or killed your newsfeed, or something of the sort. I’m still a big believer in what social media can be at its best. And I’ve seen a few shining exceptions of online communities that – gasp – are healthy and positive places.
A History of a Human Being – In Toys
As I looked at piles of toys sorted for toddlers, for 5-7 year olds, for 8-12 year olds, and so on, I started to realize that I was seeing a timeline of human development. You could tell a history of a human’s formative years in terms of the toys they played with the most.
Don’t Let Everyone Else Have All the Fun: The Power of Positive Envy
Envy sucks as an emotion. It typically makes us miserable, and it can also make us want to make others miserable. But envy can also be used for good, particularly if we struggle to make changes, to face fears, or to take up new things.
Give the Gift of Courage
You know how it works – if you’re at the company Christmas party, you want your more outgoing (or your more intoxicated coworkers) to take the mic for karaoke first. Then maybe – just maybe – you’ll feel comfortable and trusting enough to go out yourself.
“Are Other People Worth This?”: A Question for Worriers Like Me
I became aware of how much time and joy I sometimes let work stresses – all around the reactions, opinions, and demands of other people – take away from me. I also became aware of how much less worthy those other people seemed relative to the simple scene of beauty around me.