. At this point, I can confidently say that the practice of brahmavihara meditation has made me less judgmental of other people. But it would be wrong to say that I’m completely free of this mental habit (it is part of the human condition, after all). On rare occasions when I do judge someone, I … Read more
. I started my very first WordPress blog because I wanted to share what I knew with others. It was an attempt at carving up my own corner of the Internet, where I could meet like-minded people. It wasn’t an attempt at becoming a better writer. Yet a decade and several selves later, that’s exactly … Read more
“A fact is a truth unsexed,” Kahlil Gibran wrote in his book of aphorisms “Sand and Foam.” Unsexed but essential, facts help us distinguish reality from fiction, real news from fake news. A good journalist will shape them into reports that later produce the knowledge necessary for a free and self-governing public — one of … Read more
Those of us on the path of self-improvement often talk about how hard it is to do the right thing. At the same time, what we fail to do is talk about is how easy it is to do the wrong thing. I was recently reminded of this unfortunate omission in our public discourse while browsing … Read more
“A writer must always tell the truth, unless he is a journalist,” Gore Vidal is said to have said. This rather pessimistic sentiment prompted me to read “The Elements of Journalism” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiel, whose purpose in writing the book was “to identify common principles shared by people who called themselves … Read more