Jay Matthews

The experience alone is not enough for the learning to be valued. An understanding of the ways in which the learning is arrived at is integral. This does not mean that learning is predetermined, rather that t hose observing and/or evaluating the process need to be aware of and open to the variety of meanings that can be placed upon experience. It... See more

An interview with the translators of Rilke's Letter to a Young Poet. This interview covers our relationships with others, with ourselves, and to the earth. From 120 years ago, some of Rilke's notions are still concepts we are unpacking and can continue to sit with. How should we love? How should we sit with the uncertainty of the future? How can we... See more

No matter what path we are on we feel the pressure to always be doing and orienting ourselves in ways that might help us in our careers. It convinces us we need to ship, produce, have an impact, and make money, or we are a failure.

"This is a little book about a big subject. I'd like to share six views of our changing world, its people, its places, its environments... Our planet is mid-chapter and we are the authors of its destiny."

This essay is a combination of personal reflection on the self and identity labels, the restrictions that label-based belonging imposes and the discomfort that freedom can bring. Included are good mental models, praise for values-based life navigation, and interpretations of popular culture.

The example of how we already participate in the gift economy is given with the service berry:

But underlying these facts is an assumption that trees are commodities.Underlying these facts is a human view of time.As the forests shift, can we find opportunities to shift our own understanding?As the trees are pulled into the new patterns of a warming planet, can we learn to embark on our own migration—our own pilgrimage—a journey that slows us... See more