Remember the KISS principle? Keep It Simple Stupid was a Navy design mantra in the 60’s, reportedly born out of the legendary Lockheed Skunk Works. The basic idea is to avoid unnecessary complexity whenever possible and to always be looking for ways to simplify systems, processes, products, etc. Most reading this post have grown up […]

The way to read a fairy tale is to throw yourself in. W.H. Auden Sally and I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days in Vermont, where autumn has appeared in all it’s glory. Cooler temperatures, moody clouds, shorter days, and a cascade of fall colors across mountain slopes, combined to create a […]

The clouds march slowlyAcross the sky like an army of angelsWhite billowiness with gray severityMoving toward the unknownBeyond sight and sound Tethered earthward by the world’s humThat unknown refuses to buttress fragility,Withholding affirmation,Leaving resented vulnerabilityTo wear as a cloak against joy. The stillness passesOnward, outward, awayAlways awayA distant hammer, or birdCalling [...]

Time keeps on slippin’ slippin’ slippin’Into the future Steve Miller Band, Fly Like an Eagle Was it just a year ago that our bulldog died? Has the pandemic really only been going for 18 months? Am I really 52 years old? What is it about time that is so incredibly deceptive? The joys fly by […]

Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. James 3:16 “I hear you’re a man of faith, do you mind if I say a prayer before we eat?” So began a recent breakfast meeting. I had never met him before, but our conversation went in many directions: business, family, politics, […]

For those of us alive on September 11, 2001, it has been a fast and eventful 20 years to today. In many ways, these 20 years have literally been a lifetime. So many wonderful tributes have been written and shared, celebrating the fallen, the heroic, the inspiring, the tragic, and the hopeful. The anniversary of […]

Why do we always complicate things? For ourselves. For others. For the world. True, it is a complex world. It is a world of possibilities. Choices. Directions. Decisions. Unknowns. However, our tendency is to fuel the complexity. We gyrate on decisions. We thrash through options. We agonize over possibilities. Why? Desire. What we want drives […]

The headline read: “The Importance of Self-Discipline.” For some reason, it really struck me, as I thought, “Do we need an article telling us about the importance of self-discipline?” I didn’t bother reading the article, after all, I’ve heard all this before, right? Yes, I have. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about self-discipline. I took […]