On fighting to be heard

Some people make the roomFeel smaller.Like there isn’t enough oxygenFor their existence and yours,Insufficient bandwidthTo carry all our intellect,Inadequate fundsFor us to spend our time togetherSimply beingAnd not competing.There’s nothing quite like the feelingThat you are fighting to be heard,Exerting yourselfIn defence of your right to be here,Using precious energyThat could be better usedIn service […]

Dinner Table

We become fuller versionsOf ourselvesThrough the people we choose toEat with,We share fresh familiar mealsThat all at once bring back old memoriesAnd usher in a warm senseOf future possibility.Fathers and mothersBreak bread at the table,Feeding the childrenWith food and wisdomIn equal measure.Mama brings out the cake-The icing is as thickAs the love she smothers us […]

Good Leaders

Are kind.They have figured outHow to get stuff doneWithout emotionally dismemberingThe people they’re doing stuff with.They know that half the task of leadershipIs to create a culture of human flourishingFor the humans they are responsible for.It is not superstars we lack;High performing individualsWho can dazzle and amaze,Pulling off exploitsThat few will ever even attempt.No,What we […]

Surrounded by water but dying of thirst

We don’t always know what we wantAnd rather than figure ourselves outWe’d rather just keep reaching for more.We ingratiate ourselves with foodBecause we feel emptyYet its a different bellyThat’s needing to be filled.We feel like we’re drowning soWe rope people into our livesUsing them as rafts to keep ourselves afloatFailing to seeThat they are drowning […]

What happiness is like

Happiness looks a lot likeLetting go of expectations.It tastes like making friendsOut of bitter enemies.It smells like trust.It rhymes with communityIts in the same class as forgivenessAnd it goes on vacation with having a good sense of humor.When happiness seems out of reachThe next best thingIs to reach for its neighbors.

Fights of Endurance

Sometimes after months of waging warYou don’t get a decisive victory,The battle plays outIn ways you never anticipatedAnd you find yourself in a marathon wrestling matchWith struggles you’d rather not have.Some days all you can doIs stay in the fight,Take the hitsBut refuse to be knocked out,Refuse to let your heart grow bitter,Protect your mind […]

Split

Imagine looking the partBut feeling like dirt?Being served the greatest meal of your lifeAnd yet immediately losing your appetite?Having reached the summitBut having no eyes for the view?Imagine experiencing great victoryAnd breathtaking lossAll in one daySo that you’re never quite ableTo fully embrace either?Imagine your ducks finally lining upBut your emotions scattering,And feeling like you […]

Joking about the truth

Sometimes humor is all that people Feel they have As a shield Against the harsh realities of their existence. It’s not that they don’t care Or that they are negligent Or have no sense of the gravity Of their situation, But rather than crumble Or cry Or lapse into despair, Laughter seems like A fairly […]

Financial Decoupling

Money is rarely just money.Its relationship to our identityIs one few of us can openly admitBut one we all feel intimately.All this talk of financial securityDoesn’t account for the phenomenon whereWhile we are on our wayTo securing the bagThe bag itself has secured us,Binding us to itself until weAlmost solely base our existenceOn moneyAnd the […]

Stinky Foot

The only problem with “Living our best lives” Is that we don’t live them Every day. We speak a lot about Positioning ourselves With our best foot forward As though that foot Is the only one we have, As though some days Aren’t dark Some nights- Too long, Some choices made- Unfortunate. None of us […]

heartinscriber

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. -Proverbs 23:7

Human hearts