I am writing this from a convent.
It is the location of a personal writing retreat I have been on for the last two plus days.
To retreat is to withdraw or pull back. Sometimes it is from conflict, other times from society or even ourselves.
A retreat at a convent is, as you might imagine, a unique experience. There are only a dozen or so guests here at this vast property.
Recently I was watching a pivotal scene from the show Shrinking. A seventeen year old girl was confronting the man who had killed her mother in a drunk driving accident. As he was trying to explain himself and taking full responsibility for his actions, she interrupts him mid sentence and blurts out “I forgive you.” There is an incredible sense of longing in her eyes as she speaks.
What do Pope Leo XIV, the movie Sheep Detectives and a 15 year-old boy in Vermont who started Luke’s Military Museum in a trailer have in common?
Within the last week, all have been described as earnest.
There are several definitions of the word, but the meaning applied in each of these cases was “sincerity with seriousness or purpose.”
I hope seeing these seemingly unrelated examples is a signal that earnestness is becoming more in fashion as a trait we value.…
This Memorial Day as we flock to parades to rightly honor our veteran’s sacrifice, perhaps it is also worth pausing to consider the costs of war – not just today but throughout history.
All told it is estimated that at least 500 million people have died in all wars and human conflicts throughout human history. Other estimates put the number at closer to 1.5 billion people.
The other day while walking my dog, Scout, I stopped to pick a dandelion. It had reached that point in its life cycle and it was ripe for picking and as children are wont to do – blowing upon. Releasing their intricate umbrella shaped seeds into the air creating the possibility for new life. I’m not sure what prompted me to re-engage in this childhood tradition, but it was wonderful.…
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Eighty-five million moms across the United States hopefully felt some level of appreciation. Today, another three thousand will join their ranks as they bring their first born into the world.
I’ve written about moms frequently over the years. Topics ranged from the surprising history of Mother’s Day, ideas for belated Mother’s Day gifts, the challenges mom’s faced over COVID, and our unfortunate tendency to take them for granted.…
Last Wednesday night, sitting in the dugout waiting for our softball game to begin, the umpire yelled towards us – presumably continuing a conversation started with one of my teammates about politics.
“My sister is a libtard out West. I don’t even talk to her anymore. She lives in Oregon and I hope she stays out there.”
The hostility and apparent sense of self-satisfaction with his words was jarring.
Last week, I had the honor to sit and watch students stand up in front of a room full of adults and move us through the power of their words and expressions.
On Monday, we hosted our second annual Social Mobility Lab Summit at City College of New York. It is typical for events like these to bring in a keynote speaker whose expertise on the subject matter is nationally renowned.
Easy is a word that we throw around maybe a little too often. Once we have mastered a task whether learning to tie our shoes or solving an algebraic equation, its familiarity can make that task second nature to us. Our instinct when teaching or trying to help others with that same task is to tell them reflexively, “it’s easy.”
This well-intentioned remark designed to encourage someone to try something that may seem daunting can actually have unintended consequences.…
“It will be a fun day if we let it.” These were the words of wisdom I overheard a young mom share with her two toddlers during our recent trip to Disney World.
On one level it might seem as if having fun at Disney didn’t require a pep talk. On the other, as evidenced by the number of meltdowns you see throughout the day, it is clearly not automatic.…
Breaks come in all shapes and sizes. Some are long, others short. We take breaks from people, work, activities, and responsibilities. We can take a break from one thing or everything. Breaks can be physical or mental. They can be of our own choosing or thrust upon us. They can be scheduled or spontaneous. They can be taken for fun, to de-stress, to relax or to recuperate.…
Within twenty-four hours, each of my daughters took a small action that left me filled with pride.
One daughter – with a minute left in her lacrosse game – came sprinting across the length and width of the field to stop an attacker from scoring. The determination and effort was particularly noteworthy given the score. Her team was losing by ten goals.
Another daughter – with just a few months left before graduation and her college admission secured – stayed up past 1:00AM that same night completing several assignments including a video project on the Spanish Flu’s impact on World War I.
Everything we do has the potential to produce data. Every breath, heartbeat, blink, step, click and on and on.
Only a fraction of that is captured.
You live in countless data sets. Social Security, Internal Revenue Services, every place you went to school, each company you ever spent money with, your bank, credit card, every employer you ever worked for, every website you’ve ever visited, every internet carrier you’ve every used, every medical provider you’ve ever seen, everyone who had ever provided you with a service, and on and on.…
A little girl with large yellow rain boots stood inside our local pizza shop. She could not have been older than four. She began to awkwardly jump up and down, bending her knees and tucking her yellow boots behind her. Her father looked on, beleaguered by the day, confused by his daughter. After several jumps, he finally asked her, “What are you doing?” Her reply made me chuckle out loud.…
During World War II, my grandfather was killed when a submarine hit his ship off the coast of North Africa. My mother never got to meet her dad and of course, neither did I.
Last week, the U.S. fired its first torpedo since World War II, also sinking a vessel in the Indian Ocean. I’m assuming among the 83 dead, there were men who will never meet their grandchildren either.…
When I was younger I looked forward to new album releases from my favorite artists. With money earned from working on farms or in fast food restaurants, I would go to the store and buy the album, cassette or CD – depending on the preferred audio medium of the day. Returning home, I would listen to the album from start to finish while reading the lyrics in the liner notes.…
It was hard not to smile watching Alysa Liu skate at the Olympics. Her short skate was absolutely joyful. For her long program, she put the “free” in free skate. While she was awarded with the gold medal, it was clear that her real reward was just the opportunity to skate.
At one point after she won a journalist shouted to her, “I really enjoyed your free skate.”
A young man in Detroit shared the story of his grandmother who he watched read the Detroit Free Press everyday and gather her neighbors every Friday to share the relevant news of the week. He now works at a local news organization that does the same- providing actionable and urgent information to his community.
A young woman told us about her college advisor in Connecticut who suggested she go home to Puerto Rico because he didn’t think she could cut it in college.…
Earlier this week, I stood on the exact spot where Malcolm X was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom. The feeling was familiar; having previously visited the Lorraine Motel and Ford’s Theatre where Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln were also killed by assassin’s bullets. It is a solemn experience, marked by sadness and reverence. The contrast of the good and evil we are capable of is palpable.…
I was so impressed by the work done by our village’s Department of Public Works in the aftermath of last week’s snowstorm. They worked tirelessly throughout the storm in an effort to keep up with accumulating snow and keep our roads as safe as possible. But beyond this, the very next day, they somehow made more than 90% of all the snow in our downtown disappear.…
Sitting in the back of a Lyft, watching miles of road roll past me, I found myself reflecting on friendship with Zach Bryan’s new album serving as my soundtrack.
I was coming from an evening out with old friends. Old in the sense I’ve known them most of my adult life. People who I used to see everyday but now see maybe once or twice a year. …
These are a few things I’ve learned this week:
Over several weeks, I had walked by this book in my local Barnes & Noble numerous times. While drawn to its provocative title, I continuously resisted purchasing it. My primary reason was to avoid its difficult subject matter.
Finally last week, I picked the book off the shelf and began to read it. The writing was so clear and moving I felt compelled to buy it.…
The holidays are notoriously a time of year packed with sweets. Cookies, pies and candy are everywhere. But it is also a time full of a different kind of sweet. The kind produced by acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that leave us thinking or saying, “That is so sweet.”
I saw it within my children, my wife, my mom, my sister, my in-laws, and friends. It was not limited, however, to people I knew.…
Christmas has always been one of – if not – the favorite day of the year for me. It is both a wonderful holiday and my birthday.
Our days follow a familiar flow starting with my children coming in to sing happy birthday before we move to the kitchen table and exchange hand made gifts and cards. Their thoughtfulness never fail to warm my heart and moisten my eyes.
