Thriving and the Now Factor

I was thinking about "thriving" on my way home from the gym yesterday, wondering about how to even begin talking about it.  What in the world is thriving?   The dictionary says this: "to grow or develop well or vigorously."   That resonates, mostly because of my recent adaptation of the word "grow", exchanging it …

Gratitude as Spiritual Practice

Gratitude as spiritual practice can be tricky.  It's a bit like trying to help actors understand the difference in thinking about doing something or pretending to do something, and actually doing something. What are we truly grateful for? For me, gratitude is extremely powerful when you come to the place of awareness where your eyes …

How to Stay Astonished in Five Simple Steps

How's the old Kathy Mattea song go?   "Standing knee deep in a river, and dying of thirst." My wife puts up with me, but it has to be annoying. "Isn't it funny that we ingest food," I say.   Or, "It's so strange that we have these orbs in the front of our heads …

Meditations on Malick’s “The Tree of Life”

I've been hearing about this film for awhile.  "You'll either love it, or hate it," people told me.  A few people who know me pretty well figured it would be my kind of movie.   Anjie travels, and I'd been contemplating watching it without her, but I kept thinking, "No.  I'll wait for her."  So …

5 Positive Things Critique Can Do For You

I finished the 4th draft of my new play, and in spite of as much focused and deep work as I've done on a play and a group of characters, still missed the goal by a mile.  (Well, maybe more like a half-mile, but still.)  Not that there are not some good things about the …