From “How to Know It’s Real Love” by Martha Beck, in Oprah magazine. Buddha once said that just as we can know the ocean because it always tastes of salt, we can recognize enlightenment because it always tastes of freedom. … Continue reading
I have my friend Nath to thank for this, who sent me a book in the mail with no note, only passages highlighted. From Rilke On Love and Other Difficulties: I hold this to be the highest task of a … Continue reading
From “Social Animal” by David Brooks (The New Yorker, January 17, 2011) I guess I used to think of myself as a lone agent, who made certain choices and established certain alliances with colleagues and friends. Now, though, I see … Continue reading
“Compassion is the chief law of human existence.” —Dostoyevksy Everyone has a breaking point, or a point of no return, even if they say they don’t. For example, your partner says, “I’ll always love you.” They certainly think they do … Continue reading
From Solitude by Anthony Storr: Many fortunate people do make intimate relationships which continue until death, and which constitute their major source of happiness. But even the closest relationship is bound to have flaws and disadvantages, and it is often because … Continue reading
From Solitude by Anthony Storr: Human beings need a sense of being part of a larger community than that constituted by the family. The modern assumption that intimate relationships are essential to personal fulfillment tends to make us neglect the … Continue reading
When I was young, I highly anticipated the holidays. It wasn’t about the gifts—it was because my five older siblings came home to visit, all at once! (I grew up as an only child, the only offspring of a second … Continue reading
One of the classes I’m teaching at CCM requires me to study up on the history and practice of public relations. I’m not exactly a stranger to the profession. I worked for a major media company that has always employed … Continue reading
Every 5 or 10 years, I find a song that is unbearably perfect. I don’t mean musically, though that’s part of it. Rather: It is so philosophically, artistically, and personally meaningful that I comprehend an entirely new facet of life … Continue reading
From “A Cruel Country” [excerpts from Roland Barthes' journals after his mother's death] in The New Yorker (September 13, 2010): [Intro] Those who love Barthes are reminded, by his writing, of what true intimacy entails: supreme attunement alternating with bewildered … Continue reading