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
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?
It is easy to be dismissive of mythology in our modern-day secular culture. With the tools of logic, science and reason at our disposal, we arrive at our ideas of truth through rigorously testing our hypothesis with hard evidence and data. It was around the time when I was completing my undergraduate coursework in philosophy when I started to look at the world through a … Continue reading Diving into the Mythopoetic: A Personal Story
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?
It’ Super Bowl week! All the football cliches are on full display this time of year. “Leave it all on the field.” “Take one game at a time.” You know the rest of them…. But there’s one sports cliche that caught my attention more than usual over the past few weeks- playing for each other. Continue reading Playing For Each Other- A Football Cliche Goes Deep
I’ve been putting off writing this for weeks, maybe months. I’ve been reluctant to admit that I’m going through a tough period right now. For the first time in my life, I’ve been having something similar to a “mid-life crisis,” but that’s not it exactly. I’m not sure there’s a name for what’s been bugging me. You see, even now, I’m beating around the bush. … Continue reading Let Me Get This off My Chest
I know, New Year’s resolutions are a waste, right? Most of them last a few weeks before they fall away like the needles of a once-fresh-cut-but-now-Sahara-dry Christmas tree. So this year, I’m outsmarting the resolution makers with a new approach. Continue reading Not Into New Year’s Resolutions? Try Reflective Analysis!
I’m currently reading The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart, with “Willie” being the great Willie Nelson, musician and songwriter extraordinaire. As you might guess from the title, the book, coauthored by Nelson and Turk Pipkin, elucidates the singer’s philosophy of life, which was strongly influenced by Buddhist and Taoist tenets, and includes lots of autobiographical details. In one of … Continue reading Question of the Day (Inspired by the Red-headed Stranger)
In October of last year, Wise & Shine started a podcast. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be recording new episodes for your listening pleasure. Tuesday will be the day we publish new podcasts to the site. If you haven’t already done so, please have a listen to our recordings from 2022. We are interested in hearing from readers and experts who’d like to be a part … Continue reading Wise & Shine Podcasts in 2023
In the latest installment of the Wise & Shine podcast, I talk with Billy Osogo—one of our writers and a brilliant young man who lives in Nairobi, Kenya—about what the world can learn from Africa. In Billy’s very insightful response, he tells me about “Ubuntu” and a variety of other subjects. Have a listen and enjoy! Continue reading New Podcast: What Can the World Learn from Africa?
Ego. Stature. Money. Talent. Race. Power. Gender. Religion. All the things we love to hate and hate to love. These things account for all the division, toxicity, and bile in our lives. They have a magnifying effect. Especially when one is benefiting from any (or a combination of these) they invoke a ‘larger-than-life’ aura. You know these chaps. From the politician who thinks they are … Continue reading Want to Sober Up? Try Nature
On Wise & Shine’s newest podcast, I have an entertaining conversation with David (known as “AP2” on this site) about flying airplanes, writing, art, fatherhood, regrets, and other topics. After listening to our talk, check out David’s writing, including “Why I Write,” a piece that got 514 likes when it was first published. Continue reading New Podcast: Soaring Over the Clouds with David!
Santa Claus is a myth. Rudolph was created by a sales and advertising team. Scholars debate the historical existence of Jesus. Yet, Christmas remains the most powerful holiday on the calendar, and with good reason. Continue reading The True Power Of Our Artificial Christmas
It’s that time of year again when my mind goes back to December of 2003, exactly nineteen years ago now, when I had one of the most profound experiences of my life. A bit earlier in that year, in May of 2003 to be exact, my maternal grandfather, a real-life cowboy and a man I called “Pawpaw,” fell seriously ill. He was eighty-six years old … Continue reading I Said Goodbye to a Great Man
The tutors who work at the Palo Alto College Writing Assistance Center are mostly in their late twenties and early thirties which means they’re young and energetic. Because they haven’t clocked many years on this planet, they’re not yet tired or jaded. This is likely the reason they’re so incredibly gung-ho about everything. So, when the college announced that it was time for everyone to … Continue reading Max Dodo
Are Americans freer than Europeans? Find out when Troy Headrick and Cristiana (“crisbiecoach”) have a thought-provoking discussion on freedom, enslavement, choice, possessions, money, and a variety of related topics. Continue reading Podcast: How Free Are We?
Hi! We’ve just posted a new episode of the Wise & Shine podcast. Have a listen as I talk with the uber-talented and insightful Art Russell. In this podcast, we attempt to answer the question “What’s Really Important?” Thanks for tuning in! Continue reading New Podcast Today!
I’m pretty upset with myself. I grew up in the Austin area (and yet!) I never once heard of El Arroyo restaurant, not until a few days ago. Since the 1980s, besides serving fine Tex-Mex cuisine to countless customers, the eatery has been posting imaginably funny and clever signs in its parking lot. In fact, if you search for the restaurant on the internet, you’ll … Continue reading That’s Punny!
I want to tell you about a fellow named David, a retired educator and part-time tutor of mathematics who works in the Math Learning Center, a place just down the hall from the Writing Assistance Center, the place I manage and often mention in blogs I write for Wise & Shine. David is one of the most relentlessly positive people a person is ever likely … Continue reading David’s “Walking Lunches”
