An Old Classic I’m guilty. I’m guilty of thinking too much. I get caught in my head and I stay there and then all the troubles start. I replay these “talk tracks” in my head like songs from my Favorites playlist in Spotify. It’s called rumination, and it makes my life miserable sometimes. So, what…
Sit With It
Healing In Real Time
I Will Sit With Me And Heal “Sit with it. Sit with it. Sit with it. Sit with it. Even though you want to run. Even when it’s heavy and difficult. Even though you’re not quite sure of the way through. Healing happens by feeling.” -Dr. Rebecca Ray This week, I am sitting with it.…
Playing Dead
A Bear In The Garden
The Threat Off My Chest The backdrop of this particular dream fragment was akin to a sprawling tiled garden with low white walls and Mexican tiles. Flower pots stood sentry throughout on tiered brick walkways and patios. A large white, pristine building behind this tranquil scene was reminiscent of a hotel or multi-family dwelling. It…
Was It Worth It?
How Will We Change The World?
Was It Worth It? Short answer: Yes. All of it was worth it. Every moment. That’s what I’m trying to remind myself every day. In a culture where we put a value on every experience, everything we consume, everything we see or do, we are constantly asking ourselves: Was it worth it? The reality is…
Dad vs. The Machine
Wonder Lost?
The Device Provides At a motel swimming pool in Albuquerque, summer 1980-something, my sister and I dove for pennies. Later, when we were bored with that, we searched for floating ice cubes. These were the games our father invented while sunbathing on the pool deck. He wasn’t much of swimmer, though he did enjoy tanning…
Promoted
A Moment Of Clarity
CEO of Me This column was going to be a recap of a job interview process gone awry. A mini-treatise about the pitfalls of pursuing upward mobility in Corporate America in which I was going to whine. But why? Why waste your time, and mine? Instead, I’m going to talk about the promotion I just…
It’s All An Act
The Razzle-Dazzle
Whispering From The Heart Somehow I squeezed an hour workout into an hour and a half lunch break. The hotel gym was virtually empty. I brought my afternoon clothes with me because I knew I would not have time to go back to my hotel room, then return to the conference center to make my…
Part Cat, Part Primate, All Human
How Parkour Chose Me
The Electricity Of Maneuvering We stood considering the tree. Its twisty, spongy trunk and branches grew low to the ground, forming bridges and loops of papery bark that bounced when touched. The tree was not menacing, nor outwardly dangerous. If anything, you might set your baby’s cradle in it to rock on the tree top,…
Trying My Best
A Higher Vibration?
Living In The Wild On Christmas Eve, I participated in an incredibly First World event. Dining with Orcas. We sat on the deck of a huge pool, where, behind a thick glass partition, killer whales popped up now and then to demonstrate their theme park skills: waving, showing their flukes, and doing a jump or…
A New Hope
Experiments vs. Resolutions
Changing The Experience The word resolution denotes something that needs to be solved. A problem, perhaps, that needs fixing. It’s all so formal and final. For 2024, I’m implementing experiments instead of resolutions. Experiments involve change, tests, trials. They are tentative and fluid. They require tweaking and tinkering, and they eventually lead to breakthroughs, new…
The Unbearable Lightness of Mean
Winter Break Redux
The Crystal Generation A terrible thing happens to my children after a long break from school: they forget they have to go back. Last year, it was my eldest who reverted to his worst behaviors on Day One after an extended break. (Thanksgiving week, winter break, etc.) This year, it’s my youngest. The guy who,…
The Clean Man: When Life Gives You Vacuums
A New Year's Day fable.
The Clean Man Once, there was a man who loved to clean. He kept his home very tidy. He dusted and mopped often, always kept the dishwasher in use, and was meticulous with the laundry. His home cleanliness was a boon and a blessing to his family, who actually did very little in the way…
The Case For The Grinch & Scrooge
Getting Through The Holidays
I’m Not Okay The Grinch. Ebenezer Scrooge. We know their stories. Two isolated, lonely, and angry-at-the-world men see the light on Christmas as a result of some kind of ego realignment. For Scrooge, it’s a series of ghosts that scare him straight, and for The Grinch, it’s singing Who’s. What’s convenient about these stories is…
About Junk Food
We Are What We Eat Series, Part 4
Drive-Thru Junkies In this four part series, Good Men Project columnist, Taylor García invites you to examine what you eat to better understand who you are and how you function When I was about 8-years-old, my hometown’s second McDonald’s opened less than one mile from my house. It was…a miracle. In very short order, we…
Sardines For Breakfast
We Are What We Eat Series, Part 3
I Chose The Push Ups In this four part series, Good Men Project columnist, Taylor García invites you to examine what you eat to better understand who you are and how you function I cannot confirm or deny that I was the victim of fraternity hazing in college, nor can I confirm or deny that…
Gluten-Freak
We Are What We Eat Series, Part 2
Mere Mortals In this four part series, Good Men Project columnist, Taylor García invites you to examine what you eat to better understand who you are and how you function My best dad joke one-liner goes as follows: “I used to be the toast-of-the-town, but now I’m gluten-free.” It’s a distinct counterpoint to what I…