Month: February 2022

“There is another kind of seeing that involves a letting go.”

Annie Dillard describes two kinds of seeing.  The first kind of seeing is like taking pictures with a camera, moving from shot to shot, reading your light meter.  In the second kind, you become the camera, and your body’s shutter opens, and the moment’s light prints on you. To see … Read More

“Shall this leave us bitter? Or better? Grieve. Then choose.”

In an interview with Michelle Obama, Amanda Gorman says that for the last six years, she has been challenging herself to write what she called the “Inauguration poem” that is “worthy of a new chapter in the country.” Her goal was to be “brave enough to be hopeful.” Wow!  I … Read More

“Self-trust is the essence of heroism.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s description of heroism looks simple: heroes have strong values; they don’t listen to doubters. But Emerson’s essays can be described as collections of complex ideas. He also says that heroism “has pride; it is the extreme of individual nature” (177). If you are hoping to find … Read More