609. Measuring

I recently had a conversation with a friend who had a stroke a few years ago. She is paralyzed on one side of her body, and like me, has to do things more slowly than she used to. That can be quite frustrating. It takes her longer to do simple tasks most people take for…

It can be hard to be different. Sometimes differences are respected and celebrated, but they can also be burdens to bear; tolerance is far from universal. And so people who are different build closets, and try to hide their differences in their closets. Coming to a new country, they try to hide their heritage by…

I think it was Socrates who said, “Know thyself.” What a deceptively simple thing for him to say! In some ways, we do start out knowing ourselves. We know what we need: food, comfort, warmth, and company. And those needs start out being a big part of who we are. Everybody else has the hard…

Once, I participated in a workshop that focussed on “mid-life transitions.” I was in my late thirties, but since, like everyone else, I didn’t know how long I’d live, I figured I might as well face whatever mid-life issues I needed to face – try to get them over with. The presenter was eloquent. One…

Much of the time, we talk without knowing exactly what we’re going to say until just before we say it. What we end up saying depends on what other people say, and on what we think about what they say. Sometimes we surprise ourselves; through effective conversation, we can learn about ourselves and other people,…

Working with fourth graders, I get to see the interesting ways children deal with feelings that are new to them. Some of them are starting to feel attracted to other children in ways they’re not used to, and seeing that brings back memories. Some adults think the beginnings of romance and sexuality are funny. I…