Clik here to view.
What Your Parents Never Told You About How the World Works
Parents want to protect their children. But in doing so, they tend to omit some vital details about life. How often does a parent tell a child people are basically good and beautiful, and the world is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The One Thing Worse Than Being Embarrassed (And How to Avoid It)
We orchestrate most of our lives around avoiding embarrassment. But what if, in doing so, we orchestrate the only thing ultimately worse than embarrassment? Photo Credit: lincolnblues via Compfight cc...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BringBackOurGirls (When the Nigerian Girls Feel Like Your Little Girl)
To grieve or not to grieve? That is the question we ask, when we choose our news. Do we put the brakes on our heart, or do we allow our hearts to break? Photo Credit: Suzi Edwards-Alexander via...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The One Illusion We Cannot Afford To Believe In
“We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.” —Thich Nhat Hanh Photo Credit: Leon Fishman via Compfight cc I’m on the fifth floor of a hotel in Pennsylvania, waiting for an elevator to the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why I Waited a Month to Write About Robin Williams
When we try to fix things fast, we never get to feel them fully. And we need to feel them fully, because the solutions to our biggest problems lie at the bottom of our grief. If we don’t get better at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Real Scandal Behind the NFL Domestic Violence Controversy
The real scandal is not about football or domestic violence or big business. The real scandal is about what’s happening in our living rooms… Photo Credit: Camil Tulcan via Compfight cc Baltimore Ravens...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Letter of Thanks to You
Photo Credit: Amber B McN via Compfight cc Dear You, Yes, you. Thank you, Faithful Friend. Thank you for the grace you give—the grace that reminds us we’re okay, good enough, even lovely. Thank you for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Siblings Fight (and Why We All Fight Like Siblings)
Siblings fight because they assume love is a limited resource. They assume they have to compete for caring. In other words, siblings are just like the rest of us… Photo Credit: flintman45 via Compfight...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I’ve Got Bad News and I’ve Got Good News (Which Will You Choose?)
Photo Credit: Richard Ricciardi via Compfight cc “Daddy, I’ve got bad news!” I’m getting into the car after making the mistake of sending my youngest two children out to the garage on their own. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Home Is Where the Grace Is
Photo Credit: Mitya Ku via Compfight cc It’s a Saturday evening and my oldest son and I are working the dinner shift at a homeless shelter. We’re staffing the beverage table with friends, enjoying the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Karma Envelopes
Last week, I got ambushed by hope in a pub in Boulder, Colorado. My wife and I had just gotten into town for a conference. Our flight out of O’Hare had been delayed for hours by thunderstorms, so by...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Kindness Multiplies, Joy Rebounds, and Generosity Goes Viral
Last week, I wrote about a pub in Colorado, where you don’t have to pay your tab when you eat. If you don’t have cash, they send you home with a Karma Envelope, and they trust you’ll send your payment...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Power of Friendship (When Friendship is a Verb)
The word “friend” is a derivative of the verb “freon,” which means, “To love.” A friend is a person. And a friend is a verb… Photo Credit: tico_24 via Compfight cc Two years ago, as my daughter was...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reflections on Beauty (From Main Street U.S.A.)
Beauty. There’s an entire industry dedicated to it. But what if beauty isn’t something you can buy or paint on or put on? What if beauty isn’t even something you can create? What if beauty is a reality...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Dear ISIS (A Letter Between Human Beings)
Photo Credit: le calmar via Compfight cc Dear ISIS, I know I’m supposed to hate you. I know I’m supposed to be angry. I know I’m supposed to want revenge. I know I’m supposed to demand justice at any...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Kindness Challenge
Let’s admit it: we’re obsessed with winning. Just look around. Everything has become a competition. Our will-to-win is everywhere, and it’s not going anywhere. But what if we gave it something better...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s All the Rage: How Outrage Has Become a Virtue
This post is a bad idea—an invitation for indignation. Because I’m about to suggest we all act a little less controversial and, these days, suggesting less controversy has become the most controversial...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BREAKING NEWS: This Just Happened and the World May Never Be the Same
Photo Credit: Maria Eklind via Compfight cc (UnTangled News)—The global community was rocked yesterday by a divorce that may alter the course of humanity and the future of the planet. UnTangled News...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Antidote to All the Crap in Your Facebook Feed
When I’m procrastinating on writing—due to fear, fatigue, fear, lack of inspiration, did I mention fear?—Facebook is like a magnet. One day recently, I could feel its pull, so I decided to trick myself...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Parable of the Mass Shooting That Didn’t Happen
The gun sits on the car seat beside him. He watches the people lined up outside the club. People? More like swine. Robotic pigs, programmed to get into lines, to work and to sweat all day and then, at...
View Article