Here are some pieces that I wrote up for two episodes of the Anarchy Bang podcast. One episode was about buddhist anarchism and the other episode was about Nonviolent Communication & anarchism.
Tag: compassion
Don’t Underestimate the Resilience and Resourcefulness of the Homeless
You can say (people do say) many things about homeless people. But a fact that is under-appreciated is just how resilient and resourceful they often are.
Transforming Overwhelm & Burden to Something Powerful
How many of you have felt overwhelmed recently by everything you have to do? How many of you have felt something you have to do — or everything you have to do — as a burden?
How Government Programs Ruined Childhood
An op-ed in Sunday’s New York Times entitled “We Have Ruined Childhood” offers disheartening data about childhood depression and anxiety, closely linked to school attendance, as well as the disturbing trend away from childhood free play and toward increasing schooling, standardization, and control.
Questioning the Back-To-School Default
Back-to-school time is upon us. My Instagram feed is starting to fill with first-day photos as a new school year begins this week in some parts of the country. For those of us who homeschool, we often get asked, “So, why did you decide to homeschool?” We respond with various personal and educational reasons, including the top motivator for homeschoolers on national surveys: “concern about the school environment.” What always strikes me, though, is that parents who send their kids to school never get asked this question. When was the last time someone asked a parent, “So, why did you decide to send your child to school?”
Finding Groundedness in the Age of Anxiety
In short, our anxiety is caused by uncertainty. It’s a feeling of alarm, of stress, of fear or even slight panic, when things feel unsettled, constantly shifting, out of control.
A Simple Mindful Method to Deal with Tiredness, Loneliness & Stress
A loved one has been going through a hard time, dealing with tiredness, stress, and loneliness, and my heart goes out to them as it does anyone going through such struggles. They can break your heart, these difficult emotions. But beyond compassion, what I tried to help her with is a fairly simple method for dealing with these difficulties mindfully. I offer it to you all as well, as something to practice and test out.
Vast Mind: 3 Ways to Open Beyond the Self-Concern of Our Small Mind
Let’s imagine that there’s someone whose family member has said something insulting to them. They immediately get caught up in small mind, thinking about how they don’t deserve to be treated this way, that they’re a good person and that this person is always being inconsiderate. They are worried about themselves, and their world is very small and constricted. What if instead, this person dropped their self-concern, and opened their awareness to something wider than themselves?
The Silver Lining of Unlikely Faults
“You’re much too agreeable.” “You’re much too assertive.” “You’re far too focused.” “You’re far too curious.” “You’re much too perfectionistic.” “You’re much too fast.” In the course of your life, you’ll likely hear one of each of these pairs of criticisms (or ones like them). If you’re really growing your personality over time, you’ll hear both.
A Short Hop from Bleeding Heart to Mailed Fist
When Hugo Chavez began ruling Venezuela, he sounded like a classic bleeding-heart – full of pity for the poor and downtrodden. Plenty of people took him at his words – not just Venezuelans, but much of the international bleeding-heart community. By the time Chavez died, however, many admirers were already having second thoughts about his dictatorial tendencies.