Sunday Best – September 20, 2026
I was listening to an audiobook today while doing yardwork, half attentive and half in daydream. Through the mist, I heard the author casually note that there’s a big difference between being a nice guy and a good man.
Woah.
Both my daydreaming and my pruning paused on the spot, and now I’ve been pondering this nice/good distinction all afternoon.
Nice smiles at others. Good advocates for them.
Nice does enough. Good goes the extra mile.
Nice fades when out of view. Good needs no witness.
Nice keeps the peace. Good holds the line.
Dear ones, sometimes Good requires Nice to be sacrificed – a dreadful inconvenience.
When it does, which will we be?
** The book noted here was Matthew McConaughey’s Poems & Prayers, which was super as an audio book – but I plan to revisit in printed form, so that I can attend to every line.
Sunday Best – September 13, 2026
A few weeks ago I was on an early morning flight where the a/c seemed stuck on full blast. I was rubbing my arms to keep warm, and figured a cup of tea would make things bearable.
About ten minutes later, the flight attendant came by with a large water bottle, and offered me the whole thing. I was about to ask for the tea instead, but it turned out he had seem me shivering and brought me a hot water bottle! It warmed my spirits as well as the rest of me, and kept me cozy all the way home.
Dear ones, what might we notice today?
How might we help?
Sunday Best – September 6, 2026
Friends, I promise that these weekly reflections will not be an endless parade of memorials.
And yet. What a time.
Today I offer short quotes from two lives of wisdom and action – Wendell Berry and Gloria Steinem. It would be easy to think of these two in separate (or even opposite) categories, but both recognized the power of community. Both held clarity regarding where their own time was best spent. Both saw that our nanosecond news cycles run out of sync with our most important endeavors. And, I just realized this week, both advocated for joy as an act of deep and informed hope.
How lucky we are that all they touched is forever changed, as is true for each of us in our own lives.
How lucky we are that their written works can live on, unbound by time.
Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. – Wendell Berry
Laughter is the only free emotion – the only one that can’t be compelled. – Gloria Steinem
*****
Some of my favorite writing by these two includes:
Wendell Berry:
* Manifesto: The Mad Farmer’s Rebellion This poem hangs in a spot in my home where I can see it every day. Each line holds a sharp edged beauty and power.
* The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture
* This Day: Sabbath Poems 1979-2012
Gloria Steinem:
* An Unexpected Life (forthcoming)
Sunday Best – August 30, 2026
When I was a young media analyst, I got to attend a number of star-studded events. Of course it took just one moment for any Hollywood type to size me up and realize that I was not one of them, nor especially powerful, and therefore most looked right through me.
But.
One night I was having dinner with a Very Important Studio Executive, at a Very Shmoozy Restaurant. Just after we ordered from the waiter, who did not even glance my way, a teeny tiny and extremely glamorous woman approached our table.
You guessed it. It was Dolly Parton.
After greeting the Very Important Person, she turned and looked me right in the eye, held out her hand, and introduced herself (as if that were necessary). After their quick conversation, she turned again, apologized for interrupting our dinner, and said goodbye to me. By name.
Since then, I’ve seen Dolly expertly play over a dozen instruments in a single concert. I’ve seen her respond to hostile interview questions with love and grace. I’ve seen her incredible Imagjnation Library grow to over 300 million books. I’ve seen the magic of Dollywood seamlessly combine a bald eagle sanctuary, giant cinnamon rolls, and river splash rides.
But none of that has surprised me as much as the night that she turned my way, and looked me in the eye.
Dear ones, who might we choose to see today?
Sunday Best – August 23, 2026
Enchantment is the oldest form of medicine. – Carl Jung
Years ago, as our jeep in Africa crested over the edge of a steep hill, we saw just below us a family of giraffes, slow-motion galloping across the road, their necks swaying to the rhythm of their own feet.
I was enchanted.
Last week, I turned the corner of my own street in my own hometown, and there before me was a whole herd of elephants, processing down Commonwealth Avenue under the leafy and decidedly un-tropical canopy.
I was enchanted.
And I was not the only one! When I returned in the daylight, crowds of people were weaving in and out of the herd, every single person looking dreamy and awestruck.
Dear ones, heaven knows that we often encounter situations that are decidedly un-enchanting. So when we’re presented with unexpected delights, that’s all the more reason to celebrate.
Let’s pause.
Let’s do a little dance of glee.
Let’s thank our lucky stars.
* Did you know a group of giraffes is called a “tower” when they are standing, and a “journey” when they are moving? A third option for such a group is “kaleidoscope”!
The Great Elephant Migration is an ongoing project to foster understanding of the web (“not a pyramid”) of our interconnected life on earth. The herd can be seen in Boston through September 13.