“You have to decide in advance.” The guys sitting around the circle looked confused so I let it sit for a few moments. Finally one guy asked, “How can you do that? How can you decide in advance when you don’t know what’s gonna happen?” “What do the rest of you think?” Quiet…the kind of […]
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Driving Without Hitting Stuff
Would you agree that there’s more to good driving than “not running into stuff”? As a kid I developed the really bad driving habit of staring at oncoming traffic. Makes sense, right? Oncoming traffic is the biggest danger, so why wouldn’t you watch it carefully? The problem, of course, is that you tend to steer […]
Continue readingMore TagDo You Ever Worry About Worrying?
Somewhere along the line I learned to worry. I got really good at it, and as a young adult the notion of NOT worrying about stuff seemed really odd. In fact, I worried when I wasn’t worried. When I finally figured it out, I realized that I somehow equated not worrying with not caring. In […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat If We All Step Into The Circle?
Yesterday I talked about a circle of unconditional respect. I love this simple notion, which I owe to my friend Eric Larsen. Here’s how I described it to my students. When you step into the blue circle you agree to acknowledge the basic human dignity of every other person. Since you agree to stay in the circle, you […]
Continue readingMore TagHow About A Little Respect?
Should students respect their teachers? Of course they should. Over at Bouncing Back today I explained why everyone, as a child of God, ought to be treated with dignity and respect. So what if it doesn’t happen? What if others fail to treat you respectfully? As a teacher, I quickly surrendered the notion that my position would […]
Continue readingMore TagCrazy Thing Called Love
Love confuses. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.(Romans 20:20) Love confuses those who only know how to draw lines and fight. They may react, initially, with anger, hate, or resentment, but the bitterness is […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat If People Aren’t Their Ideas?
So how do we stop otherizng? Bad news–we likely won’t. Stop, that is. Otherizing is pretty ingrained in how we deal with the world, and I suspect none of us is going to simply give it up. Good news–we can make progress. We can increase awareness. We can work at perceiving, and at least blurring, […]
Continue readingMore TagThe Problem Of Them
I’ve noticed lately how much of our conversation is about “them.” If you pay attention, our discourse is immersed in a sea of “otherizing.” Over at Bouncing Back today I defined otherizing as the process of discerning and accentuating differences between people so it’s apparent one group is clearly not like us–they’re the “others.” Homeless folks […]
Continue readingMore TagSelma And Courage
I heard some folks discussing the upcoming movie SELMA yesterday. I’m anxious to see the movie. I hope it’ll contribute in a positive way to the current national dialogue. The discussion drifted to the danger faced by those who marched. One person wondered, “Where did Dr. King and his followers find the courage to continue […]
Continue readingMore TagWhile I Wait…
What’s the baby in the manger trying to tell me? I keep looking at the scene surrounding His birth. I’m wondering what it means for me right now, trying to figure out what I’m supposed to learn while I wait. # # # Don’t cling to your life. When you empty yourself, you discover your […]
Continue readingMore TagHope And The Christmas Star
Jiminy Cricket famously advised Pinocchio to wish upon a star. It’s a cute song, but I’m not sure it’s wise to accept life coaching advice from a bug. I don’t believe in wishes any more than I believe in the twenty-seven versions of Santa Claus that recently invaded our house. There’s a star in the Christmas […]
Continue readingMore TagHow Would You Answer A Little Boy’s Question
On December 10, 1986, Elie Wiesel delivered one of the influencal speeches in history. The occasion was his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize. Wiesel looked back to himself as a small boy entering the Holocaust and asked, “Can this be true? Who would allow such crimes to be committed? How could the world remain […]
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