Back in 2001, I took acting classes at a well-regarded studio in Los Angeles. The format of these classes was “scene study.” This meant we would work on scenes with acting partners (fellow students) on our own time outside of class, and then present them in class for critique and…

Twenty-five years ago this month, I gave birth. To an album of original songs. Back in those days of yore the Internet, at least in terms of wide usage, was in its infancy, and the compact disc (CD) was the go-to format for both purchasing (yes, purchasing!) …

While vacationing in Utah several years ago, my wife and I found ourselves in the visitor center of Arches National Park, watching a film on the area’s dramatic natural history. The narrator was explaining the forces and processes that, over tens of millions of years, created the confounding and awe-inspiring…

Have you ever noticed it can be far easier to treat other people with kindness than to do the same for yourself? …

While on a silent meditation retreat in October 2019, I spent some (non-sitting) time pondering what a “great life” consists of, if broken down to its most essential qualities. Obviously, different people have different values and therefore different aspirations for their lives. But I wanted to distill this down to…

Yesterday as I was nearing the top of the stairs to my second-floor apartment, laundry basket in hand, I heard a buzzing sound from above. Expecting it to be a large moth, I looked up and saw a hummingbird flying around in the square opening just below our building’s skylight…

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” — Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788–1860) *** I am willing to bet that at some point in your life you have already achieved the impossible. How am I…

If you watch any number of nature documentaries — or, perhaps, simply observe the world around you — it becomes readily apparent that we exist in both a nurturing and an incredibly harsh environment. The earth is supportive of our being here (to a point), but is also a notoriously…

As a hominid (if you are reading this, you probably are one), you — like the rest of us — are subject to bad moods. Our moods are in a constant state of flux, and can be affected by many factors, including: — Whether or not we’ve eaten — What…