When I pick up litter from a pile or collection, I don’t always pick up all of it. I imagine conversations in my head if someone asked why I left some. Sometimes the drug users in Washington Square Park will point me to pieces I didn’t pick up. I think they feel like they’re doing me a favor, maybe based on thinking I like picking up trash just because and[…] Keep reading →

The average American watches 5 hours of TV per day. Many fly or drive around for fun. If we want to pollute less, will we lose the ability to enjoy ourselves? I’ve written before how Vincent Stanley‘s commitment to turn off his computer Friday mornings and Nicola Pirulli‘s walking me through The Spodek Method led to me turning off all my electronics and practicing singing daily. Since starting, I’ve missed[…] Keep reading →

I didn’t think of how small my building’s elevators were when I bought a sofa after moving into my current apartment. It didn’t fit. The deliverymen tried to bring it up the stairs too. They made the first landing, but couldn’t make the turn to go up the next flight. They had to take it back. I ended up paying a $300 restocking fee plus big tips for the deliverymen’s[…] Keep reading →

I watched the documentary Dominion on how the factory farm system treats animals. It’s brutal but important. It shows many graphic scenes so I know the link below won’t play inline, but the producers made it freely available. Click through to watch it online. I recommend watching Dominion when you’re ready for a sobering gut-punch you’ll wish you had watched earlier. Why I recommend it I last ate meat in[…] Keep reading →

I doubt I’ll ever write a novel, but if I do, a long time ago I thought of an idea. I’ve never told it to anyone. My idea is a full novel written on an almost momentary incident, written from several people’s perspectives, each in a different chapter. I generally think of writing it on a single pitch in a baseball game. The perspectives would be the pitcher, batter, catcher,[…] Keep reading →

Jonathan and I have a good rapport. We joke around. I love his expressiveness as an artist. I think he values stewardship more than he’s behaved so far in life, so I hear him enjoying aligning his behavior with his values. In this episode we review his leading his kids and wife in The Spodek Method from last time. You’ll hear touching family interactions. The I teach the second interaction[…] Keep reading →

Before I had an outline and composition that worked for this book, I wrote a lot, but kept having to restart. I was spinning my wheels. Then I started working with a coach. She didn’t know anything about sustainability or stewardship, but she knew about writing. I could separate my two broad challenges—structure and content. By structure I mean the craft of writing, which included composition, time writing, focusing on[…] Keep reading →