During studio sessions with younger or inexperienced musicians, my dear friend and music producer Masaki Liu would often be asked questions like “What do you think about our chances?” Or “Do you think we can make it?” And, more often than not, he’d consistently respond with an intentionally cryptic piece of encouragement that went pretty … Read More
I remember being in a conversation, I think it was my Junior year of college, in which I was fully introduced to the term “hermeneutics.” I’d been familiar with “interpretation” before but the idea that there was a field of study based on the interpretive potters of readers was fascinating to me. It actually gave … Read More
I just got off the phone with a long-time friend who is now a coaching client. It’s the call I needed in order to finish this script. This beloved friend began the conversation with the nearly universal phrase: “I feel like I’m always in the middle.” And I get that. Even though I disagree a … Read More
The ethos and heart of my next book is that just about nothing “is what it is.” Instead, as the title of the book would have it, It Is What You Make Of It. I realize that shifting from “it is what it is” to “it is what you make of it” is a long process … Read More
I think it was 6 or so years ago, I was in a session with a therapist who practiced cranial – sacral therapy. Which, in short, attends to the alignment of the body between the cranium (my noggin) and the sacrum (which is pretty much my tailbone). It’s a series of long tensions and pulls … Read More
I didn’t know a lot about the actual life of Jesus before I was in my mid-twenties. Honestly, even after I started calling myself a Christian (which is far more interesting conversation now than it was then). What actually led me to do the work of discovery and research wasn’t a sermon series; it was … Read More
My father over-identified with his work. It cost him his life. I’ve talked about that a lot since losing him, which happened 22yrs ago, today. Talking about my Dad’s overworking and depression was a warning to folks kind enough to listen. I also know I live with many of the same capacities for overwork and … Read More
I honestly thought I had a pretty solid pace going. But I was soon passed by a group on younger men, probably from the local HighSchool. They were wearing new shoes and no shirts. I picked up the pace a bit when they passed, almost by instinct… but found myself gasping for air and once … Read More
The question “What do you do?” or “What do you do for a living?” it’s not so much a question about work as it is a way to figure out who someone is; a question of identity. And that relationship between who I am and what I do can be tricky,… even confusing. Too closely … Read More
The line between what is sacred and what some may call “secular” or “profane” is a famously difficult line to navigate. Volumes have been written and argued over regarding where that line is, how to recognize it and how to communicate that line to others. My guest on episode 11 is songwriter and advocate, Audrey Assad. Her work … Read More
