Category: Courage

  • “The Rising of the Same” (My monthly gratitude list)

    As you may know, once a month I blog about gratitude.  I make a list of some of the things that make me happy, and the list’s number always matches the date.   Today is the 25th, and here is my list. I would love to hear your list.  Can you share? Respectfully submitted, –Nathaniel…

  • The Curious Case of Walking in Circles

    “Why are you running up the stairs only to run back down again?”  A little boy, maybe four-years-old, just asked me this during my daily workout in the park.  Part of my routine is to run up and down the steps at the front of the Museum of Natural History.  I do several laps before…

  • 2 Famous Fear-Be-Gone Moments

    A look at two famous big-breaks, and the nervous people who stepped up to make them happen. I often hear people say things like, “Oh I could never do that.  I’d be too nervous.”  Or “I am too scared that I’d embarrass myself.”  I decided to do a little research to see how two people,…

  • “Even When We Don’t Want to” (A 70-second read on pressing into courage, selflessness and forgiveness.)

    This blog post was prompted by a thought I posted on Facebook this morning: I’m considering the beauty of Maundy Thursday, Christ’s final hours in His human experience. The Last Supper, the Passover meal. Washing of the feet. Communion. “Final” thoughts and commandments (“maundy” is Latin for “commandment”). Read more […]

  • “Let’s Climb Out of the Bucket” (My reflections on ‘Kony 2012’)

    My dad often tells a story about what it means to be a crabber (someone who catches crabs).  The crabbers place their catches, one by one, into a bucket.  Eventually, the bucket is full enough for some crabs to have the opportunity to stretch their claws to the rim of the bucket, and escape.  But…

  • I answer the Q: What does “compassion without borders” mean to me?

    Below is an essay that won a competition in celebration of a visit to my university by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.  It was printed in a booklet, and gifted to His Holiness.  We had been challenged to answer (in 500 words or less) this question: “What does ‘compassion-without-borders’ mean to you?” Read more […]

  • Don’t just do something, stand there. (A 1-minute reading.)

    One of my first kids was initially brought to AidChild covered in wounds—the beating kind.  Nearly every inch of his little body had been abused.  We don’t know his date of birth, but he must have been six or seven years old.  It was truly awful. Like all of my kids, he quickly rebounded, and…

  • “Is Sad Bad?” A discussion of the impact of sadness on human development

    When our emotions are picked and fastened together in a bunch—into our life-bouquet—each bloom emanates its own aroma resulting in the special perfume which is us.   Most people want to have beautiful, happy bouquets, but our collections of emotions sometimes develop differently, and melancholy Read more […]

  • “Thank you for that courage!” (A 45-second reading.)

    One day, many years ago at home in Uganda, I had the opportunity to give an employee some positive feedback.  He looked at me with a big smile and said, “Thank you for that courage!” While I assumed that perhaps he meant to thank me for my encouragement, I liked the notion of courage as…