Is our eagerness to mock self-exploration isn’t fueled by an underlying fear of what such an investigation might reveal if we tried it ourselves?

Often, when we struggle in a conversation, it’s because we’re actually having different conversations at the same time.

Fear is a useful tool, but a very blunt one.

When confronted with other people’s emotions, our first instinct is often to back away and make believe it’s not happening.

You can tell the difference, even if you aren’t consciously aware of it.

Joy is rare enough in life that we can’t afford to ration or waste any of it when our cup is full.

It’s sometimes said that once you know someone’s story, it’s impossible not to love them.

People always say: “You can’t change the past.”  I wonder, though, is that really true?

Imagine you’re crossing a river in a boat, and another empty boat emerges from the thick fog and rams into you.

Someone wants something.

Something gets in their way.

We’d all like to live fulfilling, enjoyable, meaningful lives. The problem is, if that’s the goal, the way to get there is not at all obvious.

We aren’t stuck in traffic--we are traffic.

We often hear the Buddhist sentiment that we should live in the present. It’s problematic advice.

There’s a longstanding debate about whether humans are inherently cruel and violent or innately altruistic and kind. The short answer, of course, is both, but that isn’t all that helpful.

It’s an interesting quirk of human nature that sometimes we are the most confident about the things we understand the least.

When something passes from one person to another, it does so in one of two ways. Either it’s a transaction or it’s a gift.

Who are the people who really know how to push our buttons?

The idea that we “make” decisions is misleading. We are complex systems. No decision we make reflects all of us.

Over the last few months, I’ve developed a meditation practice that I do everyday. It’s something that I’ve tried to establish, unsuccessfully, for many years. I’m not entirely sure why, but this time it seems to be sticking.

A little while ago, I got to attend a week-long gathering with some people who have been meeting like this for over 50 years.