Use more verbs
“Life is a verb.” – Charlotte Perkins Gilman I learned to read by painstakingly pronouncing the rambunctious adventures of two knee-socked, slightly irritating, good-as-gold, simple-minded, very white, and really downright boring children named Dick and Jane. The text for one of those primers begins “See Dick. See Dick run. See …
Mind the gap
“Compassionate action starts with seeing yourself when you start to make yourself right and when you start to make yourself wrong. At that point you could just contemplate the fact that there is a larger alternative to either of those, a more tender, shaky kind of place where you could …
Replace “they” with “we” with “I”
We all believe in equality, as long as it is equality with our superiors. What is the tipping point? I’ve long been fascinated by the fact that our Social Contract works—that people stop at four-way stop signs and allow the person to their right to move first, creating a sweet …
Consider yourself part of the solution
“In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.” – Flora Edwards Do something. Extend yourself. This is no way to say goodbye to someone who has been your cornerstone, your love, your driving force, your partner, your …
Follow the chili peppers
“how like the bumble bee I am in my work or my life i see where i want to go and in my panic i forget to look for the open window” -Marybeth Fidler This week, I had an extraordinary experience with chili peppers, mints, a smoking cook, and big …
Hand one another along
“Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee, and do not try to make the universe a blind alley.” Ralph Waldo Emerson If you read last week’s 37days, you’ll know that my older daughter is at summer camp for almost 6 weeks. And if last summer …
Roll on the floor
"Perspective is worth 80 IQ points." – Alan Kay (American computer scientist and researcher) My daughter Emma and I watched a show on Animal Planet last Saturday that made me laugh. Then it made me think. And then it made me realize I had laughed because I could identify with …
Love unlovable people
“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” -Albert Schweitzer It’s easy to love people when they’re lovable. It’s harder when they’re not. In high school, I learned intricate details of the battles of the Civil War. I knew the …
Squeeze in next to someone, arm to arm
“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”–Albert Schweitzer Well, I was going to write about convertibles and fuzzy boots until …
Embrace your clearness committee
“Whenever I climb, I am followed by a dog named Ego.” –Friedrich Nietzche I came across a story this week that intrigued me. I could see myself in it, if truth be told, and perhaps if you squint, you can see some tiny part of yourself in it as well. …
