“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.” – Walt Whitman Many people mistakenly think that we live a linear existence. As our lives unfold small ideas give way to big ideas, false notions to deep truths, and so on. We progress, we self-transcend, we advance etc… […]
Life Lessons
13 things I hope people will be able to say about me after I die
13 things I hope people will say about me after I die (and may it be many years from now): I didn’t use templates or conform to genre expectations or worry about what things were supposed to mean. I believed in myself because I believed in others, I believed in others because I believed in […]
To be is to be seen
When I was in high school my philosophy teacher, Mr. Linn (yes, I had a philosophy teacher in high school) told me that the quote, “To be is to be seen” is attributed to Jean Paul Sartre. At least I think he said it was Sartre, I might be mis-remembering. I could look it up, […]
Refusing to see
So I’ve been watching “Empire” on Fox. Not in real time, but on Hulu. And I’ve got to admit. So far it’s been a pleasure. A guilty pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless. There are lots of story lines woven throughout the show. One of them has to do with a father’s unwillingness (inability?) to accept […]
Lead like the great conductors
As a musician I believe that music is a great teacher. The lessons that musicians are able to learn through music, if they’re willing to learn them, go far beyond the mechanics of playing any particular instrument. In this, one of my favorite TED Talks, Israeli conductor, Itay Talgam, studies the conducting styles of several […]
Learning joy
I recently attended a conference and found myself sitting next to someone. We instantly hit it off. During our time together he made a comment about how he had learned to find and experience joy. At first glance joy seems like something that we don’t have to learn. It seems like something that just washes […]