In the relative chaos of the past two years, my job has been mercifully stable. I work for a Silicon Valley tech company, and I honestly feel lucky to be here. The company was founded with a mission I care about. The people I work with are smart and diverse and awesome, and I can … Continue reading Constant Change
Tag: engaged buddhism
Kwanzaa 2021: Kuumba (Creativity)
Facing the challenges of the next 20 years is going to require some ingenious creativity on our part. The government’s response to climate change, pandemics, wealth inequality, crippling debt, institutional racism, and revitalizing urban blight has sent a clear message we should embrace going into 2022: we’re on our own, and it’s up to us … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2021: Kuumba (Creativity)
Kwanzaa 2021: Umoja (Unity)
The past five years have been very difficult ones for me. The fundamental shock of seeing my fellow countryfolk vote for Trump in the 2016 election curdled into a trauma over time, as I learned just how mistaken I was about the attitudes of the Americans around me — even folks I thought had been … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2021: Umoja (Unity)
Kwanzaa 2020: Ujima
Habari gani, fam? 2020 has made me keenly aware of my place within my community, and how important my relationships are to me. When George Floyd was murdered by police officers and the collective frustration of millions of Americans bubbled over into street protests, it meant a lot that folks checked in on me because … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2020: Ujima
A Mindful New Year
Hey, it's (sort of) the first day of the new decade! Er, depending on who you ask. Judging from the many, MANY "Best of 2010s" articles I've read over the past few months, the consensus seems to be that decades begin at Year 0. Since the significance of these markers is completely artificial, that's a … Continue reading A Mindful New Year
A Worker’s Prayer
After a couple of months out of work, it feels really good to be gainfully employed again. To respect the privacy of this secret burrow location, I won't say exactly where I'm working. But I can say that what I'm doing now adheres to the practice of "Right Livelihood," which means I'm not making my … Continue reading A Worker’s Prayer
The Anxious Person’s Guide to Political Discourse
Personal confrontations among friends are a special kind of hell. No matter how much you brace for the conflict, or how hard you try to keep calm, eventually the anxiety takes hold and restraint goes out the window. It's such an awful experience most of us will do anything to avoid it. Unfortunately, in today's … Continue reading The Anxious Person’s Guide to Political Discourse
Building A Better Buddhist in 2019
If there is one thing in 2019 we are sorely in need of, it's more compassion and empathy. I know this has been the rallying cry of many different corners of our society for a while now -- some have even weaponized the idea of civility as a means of shutting down dissent. But look … Continue reading Building A Better Buddhist in 2019
(Personal) Thoughts From a 38 Year Old
Today is my birthday. It is also the anniversary of the first time atomic weapons were ever used in war, when Hiroshima was bombed on this date in 1945. I'm fascinated by this face, and I like to tell people whenever I talk about my birthday. I used to think I did this because it … Continue reading (Personal) Thoughts From a 38 Year Old
(Politics) Your Light is All You Have
The world is on fire and nothing is okay. At a time when climate change is chugging along exactly as scientists said it would, when we're running out of fresh water and the crude, polluting oil we've built our entire society around, the world is caught up in a wave of xenophobia, authoritarianism and weaponized … Continue reading (Politics) Your Light is All You Have
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 