I wonder if this isn’t a western or, more particularly, an American thing. Surely Americans seem to treasure and dwell on independence more than others. The country, after all, was inaugurated with a Declaration of Independence, though no one could successfully argue the country is actually independent. At no time since its founding has it been less so. The degree to which this is problematic is debatable of course. It seems, though, that the value of independence does not scale inversely. Meaning, in one given life independence has limited benefit. Obviously, we begin this journey of life wholly dependent and at some later point the idea of being “independent” captures our imagination. Something tells us our growth and joy demands it. In fact, most of us do just the opposite. We go from being dependent on a small group (i.e. family) to being dependent on an ever larger group. We actually become interdependent. We distribute our dependence across an ever-widening network–family, friends, fellow students, co-workers, community–but fail to admit that necessary reality to ourselves or to others. Growing up is a nurturing of delusions. ...

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson What does it mean to be yourself? How can you be anyone other than yourself? If, in any given moment and facing any given situation, you consider how George Washington might respond and act in that fashion, surely you have not become George Washington. You are still you. You may have modeled your behavior on an interpretation of George Washington’s behavior, but the action you took (or did not take) was yours. ...

The line between writer and written thing interests some. I see it as the line between a cloud and the naked sky. I don’t recall whether I first discovered Doctor Zhivago in novel or cinematic form. However I came upon it, though, it made quite an impression. For reasons I cannot name, other works of Boris Pasternak have not interested me. I have sought out none of his other work. The story of that novel, the import of which is hard to imagine today, excites nearly as much as the novel itself. In Lara, Anna Pasternak, great-niece of the poet/novelist, tells that tale. I was struck by the persona of Pasternak, revered in a land that has long revered its best writers, and by the force of will that resulted in his great work. Such was the power of his early poetry and translations, it is said, that Stalin directed his security services to leave the writer alone. For a time, beauty—the beauty of language—made him untouchable.

Jesus said to them, “Why do you tremble? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts?” Luke 24:38 “Follow your heart” is advice that often arises at pivotal points in one’s life. Yet, presumably, as one moves through life one gains wisdom, in the form of experiences, lessons, mental models, and more, which ought to prepare and improve one’s ability to reason and make decisions. Yet when facing an important decision, such as a school choice or a mate or a career, the best counsel we receive is to disregard the very faculty we have been developing and instead trust our instinct, our heart. This may follow of the heels of a pro/con list or some other mental exercise, but the final say, we could infer, is better removed from the mind and entrusted to the heart. ...

Over the holidays I completed Kent Nerburn’s trilogy about Dan, a Lakota tribal elder, doing his best to preserve the “old ways.” In our world intent on streaking toward technocracy, what is more out of fashion than seriously considering something as archaic as the practices of Native American Indians? But as the divide between–let’s call it–the analog and the digital becomes increasingly irreconcilable, it seems that analog is the way to go, choosing wisdom over knowledge, choosing peace over conflict, choosing the spiritual over the physical. ...

To entrain may be defined as to pull or be swept along or to gradually fall into rhythm with. So one might loosely define entrainment as the process by which one body is unknowingly influenced by another. For instance, two people in rocking chairs will tend to synchronize their rocking, or two musicians will fall into the same rhythm, even two pendulum clocks will “entrain” to the same rhythm. Entrainment is a phenomenon seen throughout nature as a means of engendering harmony. ...

How does one separate the work from the worker? The art from the artist? If one possesses a backbone hardened by principle, each week, it seems, some new entity stakes out an absurd position. The CEO of an airline that cannot run on time takes a position on a state election law. A musician discriminates against his audience based on vaccination status. An athlete blasts a private company with a suddenly controversial logo. People of wealth or name recognition, don’t you see, are blessed with a wisdom surpassing mortal understanding. ...

In the coaching world, we talk about “holding space” for our clients. It’s sort of a liquid term, but in essence it means creating a “safe” and open psychological space that encourages exploration and allows the client to communicate freely and without the inhibitions judgment brings. In practice, a capable coach manipulates that space much like the zoom on a camera - zoom in to create security, to encourage genuine introspection, to spotlight internal blocks to one’s goals; zoom out for perspective and real world solutions or expectations. If one believes answers lie within, such is a useful exercise as it honors our internal wisdom and looks for the best expressions of that wisdom. ...

Tis JFK season in Dallas. Today marks 61 years since the dastardly event. As has been the case since at least 1995, writers, researchers, and folks fascinated by the assassination are convening in town to commemorate, present, debate, and outright argue about every conceivable angle of the killing, its lead-up, and its follow-on. I attended the first day of one such conference and found it fascinating. Though far from obsessed, I do have an interest the assassination. As a murder mystery, I consider it unsolvable. As an historical event, I consider it a still-evolving hologram of modern political power and its far-reaching tentacles. ...

One could be forgiven for thinking exploration a thing of the past. Even with deep outer space we talk like we have a pretty good handle on the entire universe going back to the “Big Bang.” If we can make up a story about it, well, that’s as good as knowing. No matter that science is just another one of those stories. This little planet? We have Google Earth for that. Just pinch to zoom. ...