I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive. ~Joseph Campbell What does it mean to be fully alive? (Apart from the heart-beating, blood-pumping, organs-working description.) What else does it mean? Certain thoughts, feelings, images rise up for me: being in … Continue reading
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Meaning Mondays: The Experiment Edition
Experimenting. That’s what I’ve been doing this month, down in my imaginary Meaning Mondays lab. Concocting potions and elixirs. Adding a dash of this. Removing a bit of that. Adjusting the flame. Timing it all so that the spell I want to cast turns out just right. Lest you think I’m some mad scientist, replete … Continue reading
Does the Truth Hurt?
A few years ago I walked into a classroom. An ordinary classroom on an ordinary first day of class. As I took a seat, however, my attention was pulled towards the chalkboard, where the professor had left these words: Show up and choose to be present Pay attention to what has heart and meaning Tell … Continue reading
What the Super Bowl Taught Me About Life
This year, Dave decided not to watch the big game. Some years he does; usually he’s after the rush of a cutting-edge commercial he’s been promised (yes, he’s a very visual guy). And viewing said commercial on a high definition flat screen TV makes for an even bigger charge. Of course, he might also be watching … Continue reading
Meaning Mondays: The Purposelessness Edition
I’ve come up against it. And there’s no denying: I simply want more play in my life. So far, my Meaning Monday activities have been fun, but they haven’t always felt like play. Because there’s a difference between fun and play, I’m discovering. Of course, meaning making doesn’t hinge on either fun or play. It … Continue reading
Meaning Mondays: The Singing Blog Edition
All deep things are song. It seems somehow the very central essence of us, song; as if all the rest were but wrappages and hulls! ~Thomas Carlyle I found so much insight and joy last week from your comments about story. You captured the galvanizing impact that story has had on people for thousands of … Continue reading
Why Self-Help Bores Me
Tell me a story. In this century, and moment, of mania, tell me a story. Make it a story of great distances, and starlight. The name of the story will be time, But you must not speak its name. Tell me a story of deep delight. –Robert Penn Warren On my desk sits a stack … Continue reading
The Kindness of Strangers
Last week when I was writing about the hallway of transition an unexpected visitor arrived at my imagination’s door, unbidden. Without calling ahead, Blanche Dubois aimlessly wandered across my visual landscape in her rhinestone tiara and yellowing ball gown, looking forlorn and rather lost. And then, back in the real world, I serendipitously discovered that … Continue reading
Meaning Mondays: The Mask Edition
A person is least of all himself when he talks as himself. Give him a mask and he will tell the truth. -Oscar Wilde I stumbled upon mask making quite by accident. Early in my career, I was fascinated by the intersection of creativity and personal growth. (Still am, actually.) And since I had a … Continue reading
In the Hallway of Transition
When one door closes another opens but all too often there is a long hallway in between. -Rick Jarow It was a welcome surprise. The unexpected email arrived in my inbox earlier this week, from two former students. I haven’t seen them in well over a year, and in that time they’ve graduated and moved … Continue reading
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