Just because a pandemic is driving us all crazy doesn’t mean you can’t grow today. Try something new: Learn a new language, an unfamiliar musical instrument, paint a painting, write poetry, code, cook a strange dish, blog. Anything. Yes, it will make you feel like you have a dunce hat on, unsure of yourself, a…More
Category Archives: thoughts
The frontlines of COVID-19—A love letter
To the nurses, EMTs, physicians, staff who are on the front line of this war, thank you for risking and sacrificing health, safety, comfort to ensure our health, safety, and comfort. You even sacrifice time with your family so we can be with ours. You are exposed so that we can be protected. You are…More
Unlearn yourself
You’re not stuck; you just haven’t learned to unlearn yourself. That phrase, “unlearn yourself,” is powerful because it unlocks the potential we all have within us. And it reframes the stories we tell ourselves that hold us back. Our stories define us. And those definitions often trap us. They’re a cage of assumptions and ideas…More
Have hope
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
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
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
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
John Pa 