July 8th, 2024 What if we encouraged children to be kind and caring instead of conditioning them to be shrewd business-people? I thought about this as we drove past a 50-cent lemonade stand the other day. I can usually have good conversations and constructive arguments with people, except when they’ve been brainwashed about a fewContinue reading “Milk Milk Lemonade”
Tag Archives: Kindness
Beholder
May 31st, 2024 Today is my mom’s birthday. There are so many beautiful photos of her and this is one of them. I was young when she woke up one day and half of her face was unresponsive; it was during or shortly after she was pregnant with one of my youngest sisters. For her,Continue reading “Beholder”
soft
April 9th, 2024 It’s always curious to me when older people say that kids these days are soft. Isn’t that the point of modern society? Isn’t that the reason we evolve as a species? To let our children be softer, to encourage them to be kinder, to let them be a little gentler than theContinue reading “soft”
FOB!!
April 8th, 2024 I have actually lost count of how many times I’ve seen Fall Out Boy live, but I know when I became a diehard fan: 2005, the year that the album From Under The Cork Tree was released. Like I said in a previous post, FOB is one of the precious few thingsContinue reading “FOB!!”
Strange Love
January 9th, 2024 We have different definitions for what it is that makes us human, but mine is pretty simple. Humans have the ability to protect those who are the most vulnerable, and know how noble and sweet it is to care for, shelter, and serve those who need us most. There is a very,Continue reading “Strange Love”
Hate is easy.
December 15th, 2023 Why do so many love to hate? I was reading an essay and it argued that most of us can’t even “articulate the strongest or most charitable argument which opposes our position,” which means we don’t even reasonably understand the people and ideas we disagree with. So I wanted to try. IContinue reading “Hate is easy.”
Oil Change
September 27th, 2023 “I may have been sober, but I didn’t start to get well until I could accept who I had been, who I was becoming and accept any distance there was between the two.” – Nadia Bolz-Weber I got my oil changed yesterday morning. They put a little sticker in the upper-left cornerContinue reading “Oil Change”
Theia: Bittersweet Symphony
September 10th, 2023 I cried a lot for Theia. Like, an obnoxious amount. I always tell people that if you want someone to feel something in your art, you should feel that way while you’re making it. And I do. Arguably, too much. Look, if you don’t want to feel sad today, I recommend maybeContinue reading “Theia: Bittersweet Symphony”
A History of Losing My Shirt
August 26th, 2023 “Hot like wasabi when I bust rhymesBig like LaAnn RimesBecause I’m all about value” – Ancient 1990’s proverb In recovery, I live by the mantra “Progress, not perfection”; as I study karate, I’ve learned that its true goal is “the perfection of character.” These are not mutually exclusive principles. I’m dealing withContinue reading “A History of Losing My Shirt”
The Words I Needed Then
July 31st, 2023 Today is the last day of Brushfire month, which means I can shut up about it for a little while now. I tell people that I don’t write for an audience, and that is generally true; I don’t sit down and think of a target person, their age or gender or preferencesContinue reading “The Words I Needed Then”
The Den 