Coming Up For Air

The Berkeley hangout is exactly the kind of place Steven Johnson had in mind in Where Good Ideas Come From . Ideas percolate across disciplines and permeate the many distinctives that otherwise divide University of California students. More often than to the stereotypical solitary genius, this interdisciplinary intermixing of ideas, Johnson says, is where inspiration strikes. Yet, at least one undergrad who might particularly benefit can't let herself be drawn in. She has seen her mother count out the five $20 bills that make up the family income on a week in her father's gardening business that has been dampened by the weather. "Five dollars a day for coffee?! I can't afford that." Students who could afford that coffee habit may think little or nothing of utilizing the café's less visible advantages of free Wi-Fi and networking without indulging, but the interview subject in question has a more fragile sense of belonging. She may wonder if every glance in h...

It took ninety seconds for me to warm up my soup in the cafeteria at the community college where I work. In that mundane countdown, I overheard words that offer to change my life. One young guy earnestly entreated another, "Dude, don't lie to me. How are my massages, really?" I don't plan on starting our massage therapy program in which these two kids were presumably enrolled. As Chris Gardner's memoir The Pursuit of Happyness challenged, I can go to school with everybody I meet. I can learn from what they have to teach me. My perceptions will lie to me. Sometimes my acquaintances and friends will also shade the truth in service of convenience. It takes a particular kind of mature courage to ask how our intentions are experienced in our actions. Seeking feedback where this guy did may offer a beachhead in the battle against self-delusion. He wanted input on how well he was developing the skills that would translate into his livelihood. The least introspective amo...

On Fixer Upper, a real estate renovation show, perpetually upbeat contractor Chip Gaines faces the usual list of hassles incumbent in his work with the reflection that his father's greatest gift to him was to show him that work could be fun. Conversely, as I asked my usual questions of a new acquaintance in Bible study about what he looks for in new hires, he shared separately that enthusiasm can't be trained. I can't, he said, teach you to have fun at your job. The two insights are not necessarily contradictory. Chip's father had a prolonged impact on his attitude toward work at a time when Chip's child heart was as flexible as the body of an infant who can peacefully fall asleep in postures an adult would find uncomfortable if not crippling. The cafeteria manager spoke to the rest of us who either were not presented with that inspirational outlook or who have been distracted from that by work's more aggravating aspects. For those of us who don't come b...

Thank you for stopping by my blog. This is my chance to come up for air, to reflect on life's input since the last time I posted, to order it, make sense of it, and to reject some of it altogether as distracting or misinterpreted noise. This new blog is also my chance to share some of what I have learned and have grown through in a format that lets me actively seek feedback as I attempt to develop a writing voice similar to that of those narrators I admire who can convey the world they are exploring to their readers. Since my faith teaches me that knowledge either puffs me up or is graciously offered in ways that creatively serve others, I'm opting for the latter in 2017. That means I'm hoping to hear from you about specifics from my entries that bless you or confuse you. Writing, like any other skill, has talent as an ingredient, but it is improved with time, practice, and adaptation based on input from other people. This, along with my request for your help, is my effort ...