Published in Personal Growth·4 days agoMember-onlyHow to Fall in Love With the World By Talking to StrangersWhy people you don’t know are more honest — The most startling thing I learned as a rookie cop was how much people lie. It doesn’t matter what their sex, race, sexual orientation, nationality, or socio-economic status is. People lie. With a straight face. Right to your face. While looking into your eyes. Even when they’re caught red-handed. I’ve…Life8 min readLife8 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Jan 26Member-onlyHow to Carry the Burden of Someone You LoveToday’s sacrifices create tomorrow’s well-being — The burden of someone you love. It sounds harsh, doesn’t it? We don’t want to think of the ones we love as burdens. Rather, they’re gifts. We’re happy to sacrifice for them. To do whatever is necessary to improve their lives, or ease their suffering. Love should be its own…Life5 min readLife5 min read
Jan 21Member-onlyDo You Want to Be Alive Before You Die?Open your eyes before they close forever — Take a close look at the above photo. You’ll notice people huddled together in the back of the boat, balancing as best they can in choppy waters. They’re about to disembark onto the Isle of Staffa, located in the Inner Hebrides of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Isle of Staffa…Life6 min readLife6 min read
Jan 14Member-onlyTo Dance With the Barn OwlA serious writer is not to be confounded with a solemn writer — One wrong turn can change the entire trajectory of your life. Exhausted, sipping a bitter cup of gas station coffee, I was determined to get home by daybreak. I don’t like driving through the night, but the writer’s conference I attended for the last three days ate up most of…Life12 min readLife12 min read
Jan 11Member-onlyThere Is a Brave Child Inside MeBut he wants to be set free — There is a brave child inside me, always wanting to come outside and explore the world, but I’m afraid for him. So I keep the doors locked and tell him to play inside where it’s warm and safe. He knows I’m protective of him, but he wants to be set…Life4 min readLife4 min read
Jan 8Member-onlyWe Are All Damar HamlinFaith, love, and the thing that unites us all — Most people navigate life with the illusion that they have control over where they are headed. How things will turn out. Somewhere in the back of the mind, we’re aware of our mortality and the uncertainties of life. …Life5 min readLife5 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Jan 6Member-onlyHe Who Is Without Sin Among YouGrace is sometimes camouflaged in human imperfection — Of course, there is the filth. It was the first thing Charlie adjusted to. The stench of urine wafts up from the pavement and dark alleys where rats and cockroaches forage in rotting tents and abandoned cardboard structures. This is where hope goes to die. Sex offenders and ex-convicts abound…Life11 min readLife11 min read
Jan 3Member-onlyMinimalism and the Art of PhotographyEmbrace the freedom of limitation — I have a serious passion for classic black-and-white photography, and I blame my friend Sean in New Zealand. Sean runs a successful online business, and a few years back we connected over our mutual love for cartooning. Then Sean introduced me to his passion for photography. …Life7 min readLife7 min read
Published in Personal Growth·Dec 31, 2022Member-onlyThe Brewery SaintHow to honor the ones who shape you — Roger never married and has no children. Life works better for him that way. When people talk about children, they often talk about their legacy. But this isn’t true. It may be well-intentioned, but it’s inaccurate. A Forbes article notes: “Your children may inherit your legacy, they may receive the…Life5 min readLife5 min read
Dec 29, 2022Member-onlyThe Glowing Souls Among UsThey are the answer to despair — A mild melancholy sometimes burrows into my consciousness, nudging optimism aside with a dark invitation toward despair. I’m not given to depression, but perhaps age, loss, and change have a way of tripping the spring in one’s step. The Banshees of Inisherin is partly to blame. …Life Lessons5 min readLife Lessons5 min read
