For the past eight years, I have had the privilege of speaking to second-year students at local high schools. My topic? What I learned from 4,000 hours, over 20 years, answering more than 11,000 phone calls on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. I take seriously the fact that I have been given 45 minutes out […]
Loving the Person Who Most Needs Our Love Read More »
Neil Postman once wrote, “Children are the living messages we send to a future we will not see.” When I ask elders if they believe they can change the course of human history, many believe they cannot. I believe they can. At a recent speaking engagement, an elderly gentleman—heavyset, gruff and wearing a baseball cap—pulled
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Note: The following will appear in the May-June issue of Neighbors of Batavia magazine. Since leaving my last job, when asked about the next phase of life, I generally reply “I’m seeking my vocation.” As it turns out, my vocation has been in search of me, but I was deaf to its call. Vocations, I
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In a recent blog, I wrote of “Pearls and Plaques,” and borrowed Ray Benedetto’s metaphor to speak of the unique “River of Character” that flows through the communities—be they organizational, spiritual, educational or geographical—of which we are a part. I surmised that the character flowing them is made most visible—not by the pearls of wisdom
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At the March Batavia Chamber of Commerce lunch, Dr. Ray Benedetto of GuideStar gave a wonderful talk on the unique “river of character” that flows through each organization. Some companies support a strong sense of character…others, less so. I wouldn’t even try to relate the depth of Ray’s understanding and research in the next couple