The CDC released a report on their survey of 17,000 teenagers. There was some good news and some not-good news. Most surprisingly, it came with no recommendations for parents, so let’s share some here. Good News: Bad News The element of this report that bothers me is not the absolute number of young people having trouble as measured by the intensity of symptoms which is increasing. This is demonstrated by the level of suicidal thinking and actions along with the...

The first time I did the Loving Kindness Meditation, I thought it was hokey. A bit like sending hopes and prayers out into the universe. The Metta meditation asks that we begin to share benevolent thoughts for others and ourselves. Taking a few minutes to quiet ourselves with some breathing and mindfulness, we consider some simple phrases: May you be safe…May you be healthy…May you be happy…May you live with ease and grace. We begin the practice by bringing up...

A European leader shared that reading Cody’s blog last week got him thinking about resilience for his team and family. He shared that “resilience” in his language has a slightly different meaning than in English. Resilience is not the ability to bounce back (or forward) but to work hard, figure things out, and take care of oneself. A bit like, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.” Wow, his comment set me back a bit, and as we talked, one interesting...

Thus begins the Year of The Rabbit in the Chinese Lunar New Year. Sheila and I were both born in the year of the Rabbit, and I thought that that must be a good omen for us. Unfortunately, some research revealed that we might be in for a tough year. When your Lunar birth occurs, which is every 12 years, it seems that getting older offends the God of Age, Tai Sui We may have some challenges with health, career,...

When Sheila and I went with our community of Interplay artists to Tukumbo, Malawi, in 2007, I imagined I’d see great poverty, unhappiness, and perhaps even hostility to a group of primarily white people visiting their impoverished village. We went on this trip with one of our global leaders, Masankho Banda, who was born and raised in this village. I was wrong from the start. The people were warm and friendly and greeted us with dance and song upon arrival....