One of the most profound lessons I have extracted from nearly 20 years answering calls (11,000 or more) on the Suicide Prevention Lifeline is that each of us constructs an image—a tapestry—we truly believe represents reality, but turns out to be ambiguous, misleading, and very often wrong. Despite its extraordinary abilities, our brains are easily …
“When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” Billy Graham I am scheduled to present my book, Humanity’s Journey Home, to a group of lifelong learners. But I’m frightened. I’m glad I wrote the book…I really am. However, there are days I wish I hadn’t. It’s not a book …
While unanswered questions are challenging, I wonder if an unquestioned answer could doom the species. Be forewarned, the slope I am about to ascend is so unbelievably slippery, I am frightened to even begin. For the species Homo sapiens, the answer to most any threat is annihilation. The greater the threat, the more willing we …
How might I be different if I knew every idea, thought and reflection I retain in the synapses of my brain is limited or wrong, and acted in every moment as if that were true? How might I treat others differently, and how might they treat me in new ways, if, in a moment of …
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Martin Luther King, Jr. The arc of the moral universe does bend toward justice; however, its trajectory is not unerringly true. As I step ever so gently, perhaps timidly, into the new year, I feel a terrible vulnerability; my naiveté gone, replaced …
The increasingly pervasive, oft vicious exchanges that permeate our lives, whether they be in person, in the media, or on social media, can easily overwhelm. Those, on top of trying to survive a global pandemic, make daily life ever more challenging. The human brain is a marvelous, complex and adaptive organ that enables us to …
“I would steal the stress and abuse from your life in an instant if I could, but I cannot. However, has the chaos you are facing taught you something about the human journey that you can use to help others?” I have asked some version of this question to hundreds of people over the past …
It’s time again for resolutions, but in this moment, it is not New Year’s resolutions I seek. I am, instead, in a quandary about New Epoch’s resolutions. What might I resolve as we enter what many geologists are calling the Anthropocene Epoch? Anthropocene, much like Anthropology or anthropomorphic, takes its root from the Greek anthropos, …
The temporary nature of life exposes its most enduring value and meaning. A delicate, fragile piece of porcelain has more value because we realize the ease with which its beauty might be ripped from our lives at any moment. A vessel made virtually unbreakable would seldom etch the same splendor in our hearts. So it …
Note: This article will appear in the March/April issue of Neighbors of Batavia magazine. You don’t have to agree with my premise, however, if I propose a thought experiment, would you play along for just a moment? Starting right now, suppose you knew for a fact that a significant portion—perhaps 30 or 40 percent—of everything …