Lately, I have heard a lot of talk around people saying they feel guilty for their “privilege.” By privilege, they mean the life advantages they did not earn but that came as a result of skin color or birthplace or age or gender or sexuality. People eat good meals and then say, “I’m just feeling bad because I […]
Personal and General Writing
A Hint for Bringing Out The Good In Others
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 […]
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 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, […]
There Is No Calling in Your Future
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 […]
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 […]
My grandfather’s cuff links
My grandfather was a big wig, first, in the OSS and then, through the 50s and 60s, in the CIA. In fact, my last book, Operation Jedburgh, told the story of secret World War II operation that my grandfather helped oversee. Now, I am not uncritical of the actions of the CIA through those years […]