Compassion and Empathy, Grief & Coping, Longform, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized |
November 19, 2021
The Great Forgiving
This week’s Torah portion always gets me in the gut. It’s the story of Jacob returning to his long-estranged brother Esau, from whom he fled 20 years beforehand after betraying Esau by stealing his birthright and blessing. Now, so much time has passed, Jacob doesn’t even know Esau anymore. We can tell this because Jacob takes great pains to send gifts ahead, to prepare for Esau’s wrath but hope for his forgiveness, to plan for any eventual outcome. Jacob can’t anticipate Esau’s reaction. Despite Jacob’s worry that Esau’s still violently mad about......
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On The Wisdom Daily this week (Sept. 21-25), we discussed the beauty of saying “I don’t know,” the difficulty we feel in forgiving ourselves, the vivid moments that your memory holds onto, the problem-solving perspectives that fuel innovation and more. Did you grow wiser this week? We hope The Wisdom Daily played a part. The Courage to Be Vulnerable – Adam Lavitt Imagine a world where instead of saying, “I’m right and you’re wrong!” people say, “I don’t know.” Imagine a world where we have the courage to pursue dreams and......
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Who is the hardest person to forgive? An abusive parent? A partner who betrayed you? One who shattered our world with mass violence? Well, according to Google, based on the volume of responses to this question, the answer is: yourself. But is that true? I’m not challenging the accuracy of the claim that self-forgiveness is the hardest to practice. Far be it from me to challenge Google’s all-knowing, all-powerful algorithms, and their power to shape our lives! Well, perhaps I should (at least the latter) but that is for another time. For......
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Spirituality & Faith, Videos, Wisdom Warehouse |
June 30, 2015
Humility and Grace in a Profound Visit to Charleston
About ten days ago, I traveled to Charleston to hold hands and hearts, to listen and learn, to comfort and console. I am still trying to metabolize the profound sacred mixture of anger, sadness, forgiveness, wisdom and grace I experienced. My tradition teaches that immediately after a loved one dies there is no work to be done and no meaning to be made. Rather, with exquisite attention and intention, we honor the dead by exclusively focusing on every last detail of the funeral and burial. Now, in Charleston, S.C., almost two weeks......
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On The Wisdom Daily this week (April 6-10), we examined the merits of a “good enough” life, a family made extraordinary by loving boys with autism, the art of self-expression through poetry and the spoken word, practical teachings about forgiveness and a new show of leadership regarding American kids’ health and well-being. Did you grow wiser this week? We hope The Wisdom Daily played a part. Gratitude for ‘Good Enough’ – Michael Bernstein In?the film Whiplash, drum teacher Terrence Fletcher – played by J.K. Simmons – fervently attests that “the two......
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As co-authors of The Book of Forgiving – The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his biographer (and daughter), Reverend Mpho Tutu, assert that nobody and nothing is inherently beyond forgiveness. Is that actually true? You know, I think it really is. That said, I feel that each individual needs to decide for themselves who, what and when they’re ready to forgive. As I wrote previously on The Wisdom Daily, there are painful situations where atonement may be sincerely offered but forgiveness is not achievable for......
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On The Wisdom Daily this week (March 16-20), we discovered a shift in traditional rituals, a film about setting your own pace, a musical trigger for useful memories, a family thrilled to win against cancer, a strategy for chronic complaining, a suggestion for reforming racists and a troubling case of injustice in America. Did you grow wiser this week? We hope The Wisdom Daily played a part. The Future of Funerals – Brad Hirschfield How we deal with death says a great deal about how we think about life. No surprise,......
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News & Politics, Videos, Wisdom Warehouse |
March 19, 2015
Frat Boy Follow-up: Addressing Ignorance Productively
As a contributor to Newsmax TV’s The Daily Wrap, hosted by Joe Concha, I appeared in a recent episode – alongside attorney Heather Hansen and radio broadcaster Rick Ungar? – to discuss current events. For a portion of the broadcast, seen in the clip below, our panel engaged in a substantive discussion about the University of Oklahoma’s decision to kick Sigma Alpha Epsilon students off campus, after they were seen reveling in racist chants on a video that went viral. Expulsion is just a first step to what should happen in a......
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On The Wisdom Daily this week (March 9-13), we examined a book about humanizing the innovation process, an app that’s enabling cruelty, a story on parenting while overwhelmed, and a semantics debate around terrorism. Did you grow wiser this week? We hope The Wisdom Daily played a part. Empathy as a Business Model – Irwin Kula Innovation, innovation, innovation. It’s all we hear today, as we’re flooded with interviews and talks from academic, business and tech-pop culture gurus. The e-book The Technology of Us cuts through the morass. These smart essays,......
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We seem to be endlessly fascinated with the topic of forgiveness, more often about granting it or receiving it than about seeking it. But the following news video about a mother in Texas – who invited a local station’s cameras to accompany her as she confronted a remorseful drunk driver, imprisoned and awaiting trial for gravely injuring her young child – actually raises all three issues. Although parts of the clip are hard to watch, this video report is worth a few minutes. It brings to mind these questions for......
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