I call these experiences our dark teachers. The lessons that hurt, scare, scar, wound, and almost destroy us are very often the things that make us who we are because they require us to muster what we thought we could not muster—courage, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, love, resilience, strength, generosity of spirit, ferocity of heart. The time... See more

There’s also something to be said about collating and curating in the slow writing process—facts, knowledge, smells, descriptions, stories, passport stamps, headlines—until the collection becomes part of the transformation process. Through acute and critical attention, away from the drive of production, toward the singularity of studying a branch, ... See more

I think this is probably an experience that many, many, particularly women but probably others feel, is the sense of loss of who we essentially are because of the requirements of what we do. And so I think a lot of people were really funny, and I think a lot of people were really silly, and I think a lot of people were really playful.

I have often found myself wondering what it is I could possibly add to such a capable place, so I listen for what this community needs. I commit to perpetually tuning myself to this question and orienting my actions around the answers I find. I commit to de-centering myself, removing ego, and eradicating saviorism in this exploration. I commit to b... See more

"There are two ways to make the world more mesmerizing: to seek out new and increasingly intense experiences, or to loosen the filters that make ordinary experience “ordinary”. You can go skydiving, or you can meditate for long enough that walking feels like skydiving. Either way, I think what we’re seeking is an escape back into what we used to be... See more

“There are old people who only think about the past, but it’s not like that around here.” She leaned her cane on a rock. “You have to do things,” she reflected. “There’s always a future, even if it’s very small.”

In addition to tracking the impact your program is having on the organizations you’re supporting and the beneficiaries they serve, track the halo effect your program is having on your own community .

I regret not integrating questions around how the existence of Airbnb.org impacted community members' decision to join Airbnb and their desire to cont... See more

Like Diana, Princess of Wales, whose royal status, beauty and untimely death made her into a legend, Ms. Bessette Kennedy exists less as a person than an idea. Because she was so notoriously private, because she married into a family that had already colonized part of the public imagination, and because our memories of her are essentially preserved... See more