Patterns of Engagement

Just now listening to Gorecki’s Third Symphony, the “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs,” which was brought to my attention as the soundtrack for the climactic scene in the movie, Fearless. In the film, Jeff Bridges plays an architect recovering from severe post-traumatic stress induced by a horrendous jet crash, from which he walked away virtually unharmed, [...]

In a recent tweet, I wrote: Increasingly drawn to creativity at the margins, in the gap, where little is expected & folks later scramble to explain what happened. And nearly as soon as I released it, I realized I had used “margins” as a place holder for several different dimensions that may intersect with unexpected [...]

A recent exchange of comments on David Hodgson’s Idea Hive blog around “A Culture of Innovation is the Key to Our Future” got me spinning off into an entirely different reflection on “culture.” As much as I’ve participated in the framing of “corporate culture,” for example, in the nearly mythical terms of vision, mission, shared [...]

This is a momentary capture of a few, random “awakenings,” which means they may not be individually new nor collectively complete…simply an intersection of thoughts that suggest a few ways forward. Many may be well-recognized; some, intuitive; others, counter-intuitive; and the rest simply kept rattling around in my head until I jotted them down. I [...]

In the wake of the downing of a jetliner by a flock of geese, ending with a miraculous soft landing into the Hudson River, I noted on my FaceBook site, “Apparently even a single goose can still take down a jetliner–nature just keeps getting in our way; another reminder to change our way.” In response, [...]

The singing, that’s a big part of what I remember from my community development work with the Institute of Cultural Affairs. I had forgotten for a time, but now I remember. My memories were revived by watching the Singing Revolution, about a festival in Estonia built around what is essentially a national anthem that has [...]

Today, virtually every family lives in diaspora; and the population of most neighborhoods and communities seems to be churning at an accelerating pace, largely driven by the severity of economic conditions, but also influenced by political and cultural pressures. When I lived in a rural Oklahoma town back in the 1980′s, anyone who had resided [...]

“My Great Teacher always says, do everything in moderation.” And with that, my Tai Chi instructor in Akamatsu (Red Pine) Park made it through the morning practice to light up a cigarette. Of course, we all understood our teacher’s transition rite, knowing he was heading back to spend the rest of the day as the [...]

My sons are off to college, and evidently the best way for keeping in touch will be on FaceBook, since that’s where they post the lastest in what’s going on in their lives. I have to admit I was initially intimidated when I discovered one son already had more than 200 “friends” in his network. [...]