I’ve been thinking a lot about defiance lately. Actually, because I’m very much a contrarian at heart, I’m always thinking about ways to defy. That’s what contrarians do; they defy conventional wisdom (among other things). (By the way, it seems pretty clear that we need a lot more contrarians in the world.) I guess you could also say that I’m part of the resistance against … Continue reading Repost: Napping as an Act of Defiance
I’ve been forgetful lately. I’m talking like, I’ll be in one part of my house, decide that I need something from another room, head to that locale, and as soon as I arrive there, I can no longer recall what I wanted to get. I know this is a near universal human experience because I’ve had numerous friends, once I’ve told them about this tendency … Continue reading Repost: Does Anyone Know Where I Left My Car Keys?
If you haven’t already done so, you might want to have a look at part one. That one was mostly about work. This second piece will be more focused on money; although, work and money really go hand in hand because without the former, the latter is hard to come by. In part one, I mentioned (and linked to) “The Shame that Keeps Us in Our … Continue reading Repost: On Work and Money: Part Two
Earlier this week I read “The Shame that Keeps Us in Our Jobs,” an article by Paul Millerd, one of my LinkedIn contacts. Millerd’s piece, about work, work culture, and money, got me thinking about a whole bunch of topics. This blog is the result of that rumination. I want to begin with something I’ve wondered about throughout my career as a college and university … Continue reading Repost: On Work and Money: Part One
God moved into our nation and settled there. It was 1979, and I was only seven years old. He took over the country with Ayatollah Khomeini. He was a “man” with a long beard and turban who looked more like an Indian than an Iranian. This text is part of my in-progress memoir, which I plan to publish in the future in the divine timing. Continue reading When God moved into our nation
I don’t think this is going to be anything like any of my other blogs. Actually, I’m not for sure what this is going to look like or how it might turn out. That’s why I’m calling it an “experiment.” I will conduct my experiment by asking a series of personal, self-discovery questions and then answering them. Each response will be used to generate another … Continue reading Repost: Experimenting with Self-Discovery in Real Time
Note: A version of this post was published earlier. As America gears up for the 2024 presidential campaign, a variety of Republican contenders, chief among them Ron DeSantis, are doing their absolute best to dethrone the Grand Poohbah, otherwise known as “The Donald,” the man who gives lie to the statement “It can’t happen here.” To achieve this difficult task, these campaigners are going … Continue reading Let’s Talk and Think about Skin Color
Before I get into the body of this piece, I’d like to say that the conflict in Ukraine is especially interesting and tragic because I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Poland during the mid-nineties, not long after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was sent to Rzeczpospolita Polska—I still remember quite a lot of Polish—to … Continue reading Repost: What Vladimir Putin’s War Has Taught Me
Life is like a great meandering stroll through a vast wilderness of ever-changing scenery. Such a long tramp is bound to change us, so it’s highly likely we’ll undergo one transformation after another as we travel. I was an only child during the earliest stages of my “journey.” I spent the first few years of my life living in a quiet, rural setting where neighbors … Continue reading Repost: Others
The law holds that it is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer. William Blackstone I was planning a completely different post for today but then on Friday last week they announced super good news. Olivier Vandecasteele was released after 455 days of detention in an Iranian prison on alleged charges of espionage and undermining national security. He was innocent. Who … Continue reading Is it Better that Ten Guilty Persons Go Free that One Innocent be Convicted?
I’ve been writing about happiness recently. This is the third (and final) installment in a series of pieces on this subject. The first installment can be found here and second one, here. While prepping myself to write this, I began to think of analogies. Can happiness be cultivated in the same way a farmer prepares for a good harvest? Think about it; a bumper crop doesn’t just happen … Continue reading Repost: Can Happiness Be Cultivated?
As you know, there is a huge gap between saying and doing when it comes to sustainable consumption habits (well, when it comes to habits in general). Most of us say we would like to be careful about what we buy, perhaps minimizing waste and the use of single-use plastic bag, or supporting only companies that show care and respect for the environment. Many of us … Continue reading What Drives People to Buy and Use Sustainable Products
Is there anything beyond the futility of the external world, governed by fierce competition, ambition and baseless pleasures? Where does one take refuge from the constant treadmill of busyness that encapsulates our day to day working lives? One is inclined to ask, is there anything outside of the status games played within our society, trying impress others through fame, fortune or luxury consumer goods. A … Continue reading In Search of an Inner Life
Dear, Readers, I’m speaking for all Wise & Shine writers when I say that we so appreciate your continued support of this blog. To show how thankful we are, we want to ask you to share a link to your blog or site in the “thoughts” or comments section at the bottom of this page. Please feel free to include a statement about what inspires … Continue reading Sharing is Caring
Most of us are familiar with the old saying, “When it rains, it pours.” I’ve been thinking a lot about that adage recently because there’s been quite a lot of pouring rain in my life over the past few months. A few weeks ago, I wrote about needing to take a leave of absence from writing for this blog after being diagnosed with a degenerative … Continue reading It’s Been Pouring
One of the things I love most about this website, apart from the short commute, is that it is brimming with people looking for a more nourishing and kinder life for themselves and others. I applaud that. I’ve drawn inspiration from it. And I hope we all continue to. Only problem is that sometimes people, in the their pursuit of happiness and the happiness of … Continue reading There’s Nothing Wrong with Everything Being Wrong
Hi, all. Wise & Shine is looking for a few new writers. If you’d like to apply to join the team, send samples of your writing via our “Contact” form. Please familiarize yourself with the sort of things our blog publishes before contacting us. We’ll send a set of writing guidelines to those who send examples of their work. We look forward to reading your … Continue reading Want to Write for Wise & Shine?
At the end of last year, this site started a podcast. We came up with a few topics and scheduled conversations, almost entirely among ourselves (those of us who publish our writings on the site). We then recorded those discussions and posted them. We were going at a great clip in the beginning. We managed to publish a new podcast each week. I took it … Continue reading Whatever Happened to the Wise & Shine Podcast?
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” ― George Orwell I hate criticism. Yet, I open myself up to it all the time. Not just because I’m an idiot, but deliberately with my writing. As some of you know, I sometimes write about delicate subjects. As a writer, I believe I have to … Continue reading The Write Thing To Do
Some time ago I saw a nice pair of jeans in a shopping centre, which were not even expensive. However, there was no label indicating its origin, where they were manufactured, basically I could not see the “made in”. It should be an obligation by law and curious as I am, I decided to start a small investigation, first by asking the shop owner, who … Continue reading Would You Love a Pair of Jeans Travelling All Around the Planet?
