The other day I was standing in the crowded New York subway and a man sitting down held up his Daily News and said loudly “Anybody want the paper?” I actually wanted it but was standing and couldn’t really read it. Around me, a lot of people had earbuds in and didn’t hear him. A couple people […]
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Detoxing Your Life from The OUTside In
I am teaching a five-week course and giving an introductory talk on the topic of this blog post–details below. You certainly don’t need to attend the course to find the ideas in this blog post helpful though. Victor Frankl famously wrote “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear with almost any ‘how.’” One reason why the […]
The Excellent Message Your Frustration Offers
Someone recently left this comment on my Facebook page: I just feel like signing petitions, protesting, voting, etc. is getting us no where right now…the news is pretty doggone depressing… She feels frustrated with the old methods of helping the world. To her mind, change is not happening fast enough. The danger here is that […]
The Only Way to Feel Better About World Problems
There is only one way to feel better about world problems that worry you. It is just like any other problem you might face–like a flat tire. If you have a flat tire, ignoring it won’t help you. Blaming other people for it won’t help you. Similarly, whether you worry about race, climate, environment, world […]
How to Figure Out What You Care About
So many people have come up to me after I’ve made a public appearance and asked me, “What should I do? Inside myself I know that I am called to help the world in some way but I don’t know how.” So I ask, “What do you worry about or care about most in the […]
The “Only Us” Way To Empower Yourself
These two images show how we can empower ourselves by changing how we see ourselves in relation to the system we want to transform. By the way, these images come from my forthcoming book How to Be Alive, which comes out in January. Join the email list to stay informed.
The Life Balance of a Fiddler on The Roof
“A fiddler on the roof. “Sounds crazy, no? “But you might say that every one of us is a fiddler on the roof. Trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck.” These are the opening words of the Broadway classic and movie “The Fiddler on The Roof.” They are spoken by Tevye, […]
Stop Race Terrorism With One Tiny Act
Frustration makes humans turn away. That is simple psychology. When we see something that concerns us, our brain does one of two things to reduce the physiological discomfort of the worry. First, it looks for action and, if it can find it, motivates us to take it. Second, if it can perceive no worthy action–it […]