There are three principles which I believe are vital for living a life that is satisfying: empathy, balance, and loyalty. I use the term satisfying to mean the various positives that one might use to describe such a life: successful, virtuous, self-actualized, finding inner peace.

It’s a useful thing for a man to know his limits. Once those boundaries are clear, life’s choices become much less of a gamble. But some folks, bless their hearts, just love a good risk. I should know. I encountered a bevy of them on the John Muir Trail, a place where I discovered just […]

I recently endured one of the most cathartic, heart-wrenching, emotionally taxing experiences in my entire life. I am of course referring to the 1999 World Series, wherein my beloved Atlanta Braves delivered one of the great pathetic performances in sports history.

Above all else, I try to make decisions based on logic and common sense. Many people corner themselves into doing things solely because most others do them or solely because most others don’t do them.

The last ten years have been retired. Time for a fresh start. If I could adequately describe the last couple of weeks, the theme would be new beginnings. And there is an odd but unmistakable parallel between these events and the overarching themes of my existence.

The waves of joy sweeping through Grant Park in Chicago underlined the history of the moment.

As I grow older, one of the glaring realities of life I perceive is the myriad of moods each person experiences, how these utterly shape our interactions with each other, and how they affect every aspect of our lives, whether we want them to or not.

I didn’t think I had it in me. Somehow over my extended Christmas break I managed to read seven books. During the last year or so, I had taken a somewhat involuntary hiatus from reading as I’ve become increasingly demanding of the material I take on.

Dear friends and visitors, I hope that you will each do me the favor of reading my latest essay, entitled The Nine. I believe that I was in the right place, at the right time, and in the right state of mind to allow my soul to be poured out into this work.