Maybe from the podcasting, maybe from writing, maybe from my general interest in self-awareness and preferring to do things deliberately, not thoughtlessly. We all know about filler words and sounds like “umm,” “like,” “so,” and “and.” I’m not sure why we use them. Lately I’ve started trying to reduce them, which takes concentration, so therefore distracts from speaking and listening. I’ve been asking myself lately why we end sentence with[…] Keep reading →

I’ve read a lot of books on nature. Most focus on facts, figures, and information that don’t help. To the extent they provoke emotion, they do so heavyhandedly, lacking genuineness or authenticity. If you’re explaining, you’re losing, as a former U. S. President said, and most books on nature explain. I just finished a book, Over, which you can review online in its entirety for free. It’s mostly a book[…] Keep reading →

You’ve heard the concept that poor people today, with cell phones, large TVs, computers, and so on live beyond the fantasies of kings. Here are a few headlines among many articles. Today’s Poor Live Like Kings Compared to the Poor Just 100 Years Ago We live like kings (opening sentence: “It suddenly occurred to me yesterday morning as I was getting dressed, listening to the radio, that we today live[…] Keep reading →

I see more people in my neighborhood, especially my neighborhood park—Washington Square Park—addicted to I don’t know what. My whole life, I’ve never been far from seeing addiction. I don’t think I’ve known anyone uncontrollably addicted. Lately, in my daily picking up litter from the northwest corner of Washington Square Park, regulars there have started conversations with me. Our longest conversation lasted about thirty to forty-five minutes. One guy made[…] Keep reading →

Call me vain or unprofessional if you want, but I’m sharing the results of my recent decision to reach a fitness goal I’ve meant to work on for years, maybe decades. Call me self-obsessed if you want for how many words follow, but the journey has been for more enlightening, satisfying, and delicious than I expected. For context, as a child I felt ashamed enough from being teased for excess[…] Keep reading →

The title says it all. The words came out in conversation the other day. As I said them, they seemed remarkably accurate and poignant. I searched on the words and found no results. Everybody wants to be heard and nobody is listening. People are saying, “we’re all in this together,” “how are you holding up,” “stay safe,” and other repetitive phrases, but to my mind, this phrase captures this moment.[…] Keep reading →

I gave a book on men and how men experience the world to my girlfriend at the time, maybe five or ten years ago. After reading it, she asked me, “Do men have emotions?” Apparently she thought men didn’t have emotions. In fact, she clarified, “I thought men just did things.” I’m glad she asked if she didn’t know. I was surprised she didn’t. For context, she had graduated a[…] Keep reading →