1. There is no calling in your future. 2. No one needs you in the future. 3. You can find no satisfaction in the future. 4. You miss your calling to the exact extent you expect to find it in some time other than now. 5. You know what you care about in this world […]
Blog
On Feeling Fully Human
I have variously spent parts of my life chasing cash, prestige, experience. I have come up with ideas of what life is for, and clung to them, perhaps because it is to frightening to admit that I just don’t know. Why was I born? Why will I die? What am I for? Many times in my […]
The “Real” Thing in Relationships and Life
There seems to be three kinds of environmental advocate. One kind wants to get renewable energy and choose better materials for our products and then have things go on pretty much the same. Another wants those things, but also wants a more just and fair economic system and then have things go on pretty much […]
Aligning your corporate career with your values
Many of us pine for meaning and purpose but feel that the only way to find it is to uproot ourselves from our careers and start anew–maybe in a non-profit or maybe as a social entrepreneur. In assuming we must take that approach, we put so many barriers between us an our meaningful lives. I’m an […]
Bella’s Path to Peace
My daughter Bella’s mother tends towards Christian practices and I tend toward Buddhist. So my daughter Bella has long had an internal dialog about the relationship between the two. She said to me: “Jesus and Buddha, they are brothers, right, Daddy?” It took me a moment to get over the fact that my then 8-year-old […]
Follow Your Calling in a Meaningless Job
Some of us worry about the world and yet feel stuck. We imagine that the only way to contribute is to completely change the core of our lives. We think, to follow our calling, we need a new career. And maybe we do. But sometimes a change is too hard or wrenching–for now. In the meantime, […]
Why Mentoring Makes You Happy and Saves the World
Here’s a question that may, at first glance, seem farfetched: Is it possible that by helping each other raise our children, by mentoring and co-parenting, we could actually be helping to save the planet from environmental degradation? First think on this: As we evolved, human beings never had sharp teeth to kill or fast legs […]
How to Change a Mind
Those of us pursuing meaning and purpose often find we need the good will of others and to do that we often have to change people’s minds: The best way to cause lasting change is to inspire it. Resist the temptation to argue. People rebel against force. Self-determination is a fundamental human need. So, to facilitate lasting change, […]