Everything is in flux. The future is unclear, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have hope. Yes, a virus is ravaging our world, our countries, our neighborhoods, our lives. Fear is everywhere. Last week, I saw a woman open the door with one hand and the other one looked like it was cupping something small…More
Monthly Archives: March 2020
Just survive
Thriving is great, but sometimes surviving is the best you can do. Because, you know, life gets crazy. Jobs get lost, companies go out of business, relationships break, people leave us, we get sick—pandemics happen: crazy: Those are the moments that aren’t controllable and cause us great pain. Right now, the world can feel like…More
Get things done when working from home (even with kids)
Working from home can sound fantastic, with all of that freedom and no commute, but it’s not always easy. Sometimes it can feel impossible. But it’s not. Yes, you get to roll out of bed and be at your desk in a couple of steps without even needing to put a shred of clothing on…More
Remembering our way into the future
We used to live next to The Whitney Museum. From our windows we would see long lines of people, snaking around the modern white building, waiting to absorb contemporary art, as the sun set spraying its varied colored glow over the city with sea breeze air wafting in and around the west side streets. Now…More
When you worry, think this
Daily bread. in worrying times, it’s what we need—everyday. It’s less about food and more about frame of mind. It’s about shrinking your fear and growing your faith. When we worry, stress, or fret about the present, the future, whether there’s a pandemic or not, daily bread sets our mind aright. It keeps us focused…More
Keeping perspective in crisis: This too shall pass
Yes, I’m afraid. But my fleeting fear rests on this fact: This too shall pass. Coronavirus should be taken seriously. We shouldn’t just keep on hanging out with all of our cohorts, sharing food, drinks, laughs in a crowded space, spraying respiratory droplets all over each other like we’re watering the lawn. Gross, but true.…More
This is one of the best ways to see your pain
Pain is awful. But it can be good if you choose it to be. As if fearing the effects of a pandemic isn’t hard enough, the past several days, my wife and I have been working to manage our nine-month-old baby’s pain after his cleft palate repair surgery. And that caused me to reflect on…More
Cleft repair surgery and coronavirus—a story
It was a beautiful morning in the city, with spring in the air and magic around every corner. But for me, New York didn’t blossom in my eyes; it was different for us. I was taking our nine-month-old baby in for surgery. He had a cleft palate (and lip, but that was already repaired). A…More
Experience we all need
“Experience” is just another word for making a lot of mistakes. Everyone prizes experience. So go get it. Try things. Break things. Do things. Don’t try to be perfect. Try to be effective. Contribute. Make things. Create value. And after a while. You can say that you’ve done this or that. You’ll be experienced.More
You can win at life by doing this
Sometimes life is hard and feels impossible. But that’s when you should stop thinking about your life and focus on today. Don’t try to tackle life, that’s too much to take on all at once. That’s how you get overwhelmed, depressed, worried. Instead, just attack what you need to do at this moment: the tasks,…More
John Pa 