Spirit

This Thanksgiving, I am reflecting on absent friends. I was able to say goodbye to some; in other cases neither of us realized we would soon be parted.

This blog is the seventeenth I have written about 9-11 14, starting with Lesser Sons of Greater Fathers in 2008. 9-11 at Twenty-Two notes how well we have moved on from the confusion and devastation of the attack on the Twin Towers.

Emerging and competitive markets are complex dynamic systems. Entrepreneurs can learn from physicians how to navigate uncertainty, how to establish and maintain rapport with those they serve, and how to cultivate equanimity in the face of success and failure.

“In Good Soil” is a well-written book on the founding of a new school and new monastery by a monk, Rev. Timothy Horner O.S.B., who was there from the beginning. It’s a story of a different kind of startup, full of insights and humorous observations.

Another “Spirit Sunday” post, this one based on a June 2023 tweet stream by Brent Beshore on aging gracefully and living for others.

Five insights on memory and mortality from two essays by Sven Birkerts about his parents’ last years: “The Ongoing Vigil” and “Remembrance.” This is one of my Sunday spirit posts, less concerned with entrepreneurship than what is means to be human.

Two speeches by Werner Heisenberg from the play Copenhagen by Michael Frayn. The first is a clever description of the uncertainty principle and the second explores the horrors of war.

Thoughts of gratitude on Thanksgiving 2021: the road goes on and we follow in the path of those who came before us, building on their accomplishments and insights.

Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) talks about the benefits of meditation and aligning your efforts with your purpose in two excerpts from his June 2020 interview with Tim Ferris. These excerpts were condensed from the interview transcript Ferris published June-30-2020.

Ipaiku is a character in a “science fiction detective novel” that I wrote some drafts for in 1975-78. This vignette is one of the early scenes in the novel that tries to capture a particular sense of movement beneath the surface or the potential energy latent in apparent stillness.

Unasked questions linger after the death of a parent, along with all of the things that you wish you had said.