7 for Sunday

How can we find a sustainable balance between striving for achievement and embracing rest, while addressing our underlying beliefs about worth and productivity? A weakness for me is that with each day, I don’t know when to stop striving. Sometimes I fail to plan; I spend the whole day chasing the next, immediate thing todo.…

When even flexibility wears you out, what’s left? With the power of hindsight I can see there was an age of fire. There was a long period—too long, probably—of trying to carve a path through the world. A period of trying to make a dent in the universe. Making my mark. I think it’s telling…

Can we simply wait? There’s something wonderful in the moments we don’t understand. It can be a bit of conversation, a moving image, or even just a thought. This week, I’ve been thinking about waiting—waiting for something to happen, for understanding, for serenity. I always feel a tension to hurry through the waiting, as if…

What is the role of patience? This week I’m thinking about patience. I’m thinking about being patient with others, of course. But mostly I’m thinking about being patient with myself. Stop rushing through the current moment—the next moment is not guaranteed, so enjoy this one. I’ve been trying to stop thinking about the things I…

What fuels lasting personal change? I’m endlessly fascinated by motivation, habits and processes. As I’m gearing up to start coaching (in the context of movement, at the intersection of mindfulness and longevity) I’ve been thinking a lot about how to help people find their motivation. I’ve realized that motivation, habits and processes are related to…

What if the distractions of imagination are invitations to return to serenity? I spend enormous amounts of time following the train of thought which begins with, “What if…” But I’m not thinking about catastrophes! I’m just endlessly distracted by things I think of which I could do. Cynicism is quite good at masquerading as wisdom.…

Will I say, ‘Thank you’? Think about your perception of time: We remember our past (or so we believe.) We have ideas about how our life might unfold in the future. We understand that it is, currently, now. We somehow sense that time passes— that time, somewhat like the water of a river, goes past…

Is it clarity or control? There is a fine line between being organized because you believe that’s how you can best achieve your goals, and because you’re in love with checklists, systems, and processes. Distinguishing the two is important, but an exasperated, “just look at all this stuff I have to do,” doesn’t make the…

How do we know? Of course my default point of view is anthropocentric. I am a human being. As such, I have a super-power called the Theory of Mind: In my mind, I understand (the theory goes) that there are other minds completely separate from mine. Imagining the contents of those (theorized) other minds is…