When you go through a crazy season and need to regroup, how do you find your bearings? In our family we forged a set of shared waypoints — the five ideas we use to gain perspective and clarify what matters: It’s better to be than to seem. Love is stronger than will. Seek the truth. Take the long […]
Category: family
Characterization, Beowulf style
Whether rearing children, growing your soul, or writing a novel, it’s hard to beat this bright line from Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf: Behavior that’s admired is the path to power among people everywhere (page 5).
Seven Things I’ve Learned About Communication in Marriage
(1) It’s the water that keeps your relationship hydrated. You’re friends. You trust each other. So talk about what you’re thinking, feeling, planning, doing, learning, and believing. That’s what friends do. (2) Do it with love. Affection is nice, but love goes the distance. It reaches deep and rouses kindness — a reliable guardrail for steering […]
Seven Things I’ve Learned About Moving to a New Country
(1) Read books. Anything you can find. Novels, human interest, political, current events, cultural studies, and so forth. Get a sense of the place. (2) Learn the language. Do what you can before you go. Keep it up once you’re there. (3) Interview people who’ve lived there. Take them to dinner, listen to stories, and […]
Seven Things I’ve Learned About Hospitality
(1) Make guests feel at home. What’s ours is yours. There’s the fridge and here’s a house key, local map, and schedule of events. Come and go as you please, and let us know when to expect you for meals. (2) Provide privacy. Phone calls, personal conversations, spiritual renewal, and daily hygiene are best kept […]
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