Showing Post from: Essays
Towering voices
Early in her life, she moved from job to job. She was a fry cook, a nightclub dancer, a prostitute and madam in San Diego. When Maya Angelou passed away last week, she left as a Pulitzer Prize winning author, a spiritual figure that moved nations and a friend who […]
Service uplifts all of us
“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.” Albert Schweitzer Service uplifts all of us. I do not buy the dogma that service, to […]
The best of us
This is love And I’ve learned enough to know No, no, no – won’t let go When you want it – when you need it You’ll always have the best of me You’ll always get the best of me. […]
Practical optimism – Practical attraction
Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right. – Henry Ford The most important conversation we are having is the conversation with ourselves. If we want to improve the quality of our lives…improve the conversation! Robert Maurer, the Director […]
End the confusion between hope and optimism
“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” Vaclav Havel I believe in optimism and do not believe in hope. In my own life, hope […]
A letter from david harder (Why we do it?)
During an interview with Newsweek, the journalist took a detour and asked, “You sound so excited about your own work, what do you love the most?” That was easy: “I get to be in the presence of miracles.” In the years since we started our programs, I’ve watched thousands of […]
Changed for good
Like a comet pulled from orbit As it passes a sun Like a stream that meets a boulder Halfway through the wood Who can say if I’ve changed for the better? But because I knew you I have been changed for good From Wicked – lyrics & music by […]
If Kennedy lived one more day
There are so many opinions about John F. Kennedy. My adoptive parents were staunch Republicans. So, it is hard for me to accept that falling in love with his message was a partisan issue. I was just six years old. “Ask not what your country can do for you but […]
On becoming who you are
One Move Beyond the Crisis in Education Higher education is here to teach us how to learn It is not here to define what to do with our lives I spend a lot of time on university campuses and virtually every academic is consumed with the challenges facing higher education. […]
Gifts in the face of mortality
Our greatest lessons often occur in the face of mortality. One of my dearest and most influential friends is bravely battling cancer. We spend precious time together in her living room. For years, she has been a tireless advocate, a wise elder, a mentor and an inspiration. The lessons that […]