I recently read this piece on Bill Waterson that I found really compelling.

As Waterson said:

"Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement...Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success."

The gravitational pull of the traditional, climb-the-ladder, workaholic culture in this country is still strong. But is the tide turning?

I had a lot of feelings when reading this article on Overcoming Ill Will.

First, I was really hoping that there'd be some "easy fix" for me – some neatly-packaged, 3-step way to deal with "those who anger us." This is, of course, something that's really top-of-mind for me lately, especially the last month (holy *$%^, how has it only been a month??!?!).

I found that there was helpful advice in several analogies. But almost immediately, my positivity turned into (light) despair.

And then I laughed in appreciation as the author pulls no punches...

Post-inauguration teachings from Tricycle:

For many decades American politics has been becoming increasingly spectacular in the literal sense of that word: like a spectacle, a show. Maybe Trump’s expertise as a reality TV star, and the consequences of his style, will finally inspire us to stop being spectators and begin being citizens. This is my hope.

As citizens we will have to pay less attention to political hype and more attention to actual political details. We will have to be better informed and more critical.

...

All this amounts to simple mindfulness. Usually we think of mindfulness as awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Yes, mindfulness begins there. But true mindfulness...