Come out of hiding
WHERE TO NOW? A poem by Mark Nepo Now that I’ve come out of hiding, my fears are forgetting to be afraid. Now that I’ve dropped my opinionsin the rain, my story is too smallto cover my heart. Now that I’ve put down what I thoughtwas important, I’m surprised by...
I Am Somebody
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." These words from Dr Seuss were read by a fifth grader named David (not his real name) during an event I recently attended to celebrate the reading program he...
Getting un/Stuck
It's finally spring where I live. We had a long and difficult winter, highlighted by a few late April snowstorms that people either weren't prepared for or simply didn't have the energy to deal with; the city struggled to find enough drivers to plow the streets and...
The importance (and challenge) of Boundaries
Boundaries are complicated and messy, but they’re also really important. If we’re being honest, most of us think they’re unnecessary because we care more about being liked and not disappointing people than we do about our own health and wellbeing. But let's be clear...
FEAR; the real F-word
Since before I can remember, I’ve been afraid. I have been facing some kind of fear nearly every moment of my conscious life, yet I somehow developed the ability to live without letting people in on the secret that I was being controlled by my fears. A few years ago I...
A Story About a Bird
Brad Montague is a guy you may not be familiar with by name, but you have likely seen some of the inspiring videos he created with his younger brother-in-law Robby (aka "Kid President"). Brad and his wife Kristi create media filled with "wisdom, wonder and whimsy"...
Viktor Frankl and the Meaning of Life
Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler are two of the founding fathers of psychology, but they had differing beliefs on what motivates a person's actions. Freud believed it was our desire for pleasure, while Adler believed it was our need for power or significance. Then came...
Gratitude Challenge
A few years ago I went through a significant amount of life disruption in a short period of time. People who know me realize that is an understatement, but the reality is I got knocked down and although I knew things would eventually get better, I was desperate for a...
What do you want?
The writer Donald Miller says one of the first rules of storytelling is “great characters know what they want.” It’s no different in our lives, which are like stories we are writing every day with our words and actions. If you follow Akiva’s questions down the windy...