As a new year begins, the pull toward cleaner plans and clearer answers returns. I feel it too, and I’m increasingly aware that progress almost never unfolds that way. What endures is not perfection, but repair; not certainty, but patience; not flawless foresight, but the willingness to stay with it. The baby babbles, wild, uncorrected, Sound before sense, joy before order, Learning by reaching and falling. The postal carrier straightens a porch lamp; Work done without witnes

A meditation on grief, memory, and the losses that shape us Last week, a good friend traveled across the country to visit the grave of her mother, who died 51 years ago. Why did she do that? Her act of remembrance stirred something familiar in me. I recently sold a long-held property that carried deep meaning for me. It was a writing and thinking retreat, and it was also the site of two decades of family and friend gatherings, including the wedding of my son and daughter-in-l

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.” Lao Tzu Too often, leadership is measured only by results: performance metrics, growth charts, and how many people roll their eyes in meetings when you speak. But the real engine behind great leadership isn’t spreadsheets or strategy. It’s relationship success. Making relationships work starts with self-awareness. To truly establish connection and trust, others want to know who you are. So who are you? A self-