Every year, I get a case of the winter glooms. Some years it is mild and some it is pretty severe. I noticed it when I moved north and the winters were not just a slight cooling but a grey and frigid affair. No matter what I do, the winter glooms are a reality I have to face. Lack of Vitamin D is a real thing. But here are a few tricks I am trying out to minimize the Winter... Read more
Without exception, human beings have developed a habit of self-deception. It is one of the few things we are universally participating in, one of the few things we are universally effective at achieving. We lie to ourselves in a myriad of ways. Some are very conscious and some are unconscious. Some take a lot of effort to keep the ruse going and some are so ingrained in our perspective we don’t even know we are participating in a deception, let... Read more
The Winter Season is a unique time in New York City. The streets are cold and bitter, people walking as fast as possible, trying to duck under the wind and hurry to their destination. One of the things I love about New York is that it is an introvert’s paradise. That might sound counter-intuitive because there are eight million people to run into. But the truth is the crowded streets of New York are one of the best places to... Read more
With Presidents’ Day coming to a close and the election cycle reaching its climax this year, I find myself thinking about the office of the presidency and what it means to the American people. There have been good presidents and bad ones, and some quite forgettable. The President has the launch codes and makes difficult decisions about policy. He (or she) is the Commander in Chief, our top leader. But what does it really mean to be president? Why do... Read more
I’ve started to notice a concerning pattern in my life. I want to do something, let’s say lose weight. And so, I decide to join a gym or eat better or whatever it is. And it works, for a time. But as soon as I start to lose some weight, I start to lose some motivation for continuing. I no longer feel the strain to lose weight because I am losing weight, if that makes sense. My diet or gym... Read more
From the time we are born, we start collecting data. We notice how our hands move, how words are formed, and how people treat one another. And we begin to mimic what we see. The more we experience, the more data we collect. Patterns start to form. Patterns that determine our expectations for the future and our perspective of the world. All of this data informs how we see the world, ourselves, and the people around us. Bad Data... Read more
During our struggles with infertility, we have discovered the value of suffering together. As our story unfolded, one of the things that really shocked us is how many couples have experienced a miscarriage. Even good friends of ours were suddenly revealing their experiences. It was like we were let into a secret room and allowed to see the specific suffering of others because of the specific suffering we were going through. Everyone is suffering. Not everyone is going through infertility. Not... Read more
Our emotions are the result of one of our values being pressed. When we feel a certain way, it is our heart and soul alerting us that something important at stake. Something significant being provided or denied. If we do not properly deal with our emotions, they have a tendency to pile up, pollute our perspective, and general make a mess of things. We try so hard to “control” our emotions – to feel the way we want to feel –... Read more
Kylie and I have really lived an incredible life. We’ve traveled all over the world, are living in New York City, and doing some amazingly rewarding work. Even when things are great, I think there is a part of all of us that wonders what a different life would look like. When we traveled, we dreamed of settling in somewhere. When we settled in, we dream of traveling. We look at families with a handful of kids with a very... Read more
We watched a movie recently that highlighted the difference between poverty (in a practical sense) and poverty mentality. The movie is about a poor woman who is struggling to make enough to buy food. She lives in a small home and cuts her own firewood. Throughout the film, we see the suffering on her face and in her life. But there is also joy. She works hard and is careful to be patient and fair with others. A man moves... Read more
Victorious Living
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