The Civil Graces Project

“I am a part of all that I have met.”  – Lord Tennyson  There is nothing more necessary in our world than genuine human connection, and to be loved, accepted, and contributing is a common thread we share. Nothing has changed this dynamic more than the devices we hold in our hands. We dialogue about…

…Will to the best of my Ability, preserve,  protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God. -U.S. Presidential Oath of Office In my tradition, today is the day of the Epiphany, or “little Christmas.” Symbolically, it is the day in ancient times when great kings of old knelt before a little baby who was promised to be the ruler of the world…a better world. Dignitaries kneeling before a…

No matter what message you are about to deliver  somewhere, whether it is holding out a hand of  friendship, or making clear that you disapprove  of something, is the fact that the person sitting across  the table is a human being, so the goal  is to always establish common ground. -Madeleine Albright  The holidays are a special time to come together to the table. The wonderful traditions and memories flood my mind…the smells, the sounds, the comment made by a relative to another that exploded into a full-blown debate! Sometimes the table can become a contentious place…a little too much wine…

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it—always. – Mahatma Gandhi Every morning on my way to work, I pass through two…

“Our impulse to broadcast our lives  makes us miss out on them.” -Emma M. Seppälä Ph.D.   “…face-to-face communication, particularly dialog, has special neural features that other types of communication do not have and the neural synchronization between partners may underlie successful face-to-face communication.” -Journal of Neuroscience   Recently, I made a decision to curtail my use of social media based on a challenge from…

“Definitions belong to the definers,  not the defined.”  ― Toni Morrison, Beloved   After the election in 2016, Ellen DeGeneres shared a thought that keeps replaying in my mind as I observe current affairs, “…we all love our country, we just have different ideas about what’s best for it, which is part of what makes America great.  And I believe we can all come…

“Forming your worldview by relying on the media would be like forming your view about me by looking only at a picture of my foot.” ― Hans Rosling When I was running for political office, the weight of the world liked to hang out on my shoulders…following the headlines and listening to the stories of tragedy and…

A tidal wave begins with just a ripple. The Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung said, “what you resist persists and grows in size.”  This reminds me of the frenzy on social media around all the issues we face today…the volume just seems to escalate and get worse.  People are empowered to call each other words that…

“When we are no longer able to change a situation,  we are challenged to change ourselves.” -Viktor Frankl   One thing is for sure, we are all uniquely created.  Right down to our fingerprints, we are stamped with our own identity.  Every single one of us is influenced by nature and nurture:  our physical and mental makeup as well as our spiritual and social nature.  When you think of all…