Are employment dress code days numbered
May 8, 2023
How do you feel about dress codes at work? Are they necessary or outdated? That’s the question I’m exploring in this post. … More Are employment dress code days numbered
Category: Work and Life
I Wish You Well, Omar
May 2, 2023
A few days ago, I had a Zoom meeting with Omar, my nephew by marriage. It’s been a while since I last mentioned that I married an Egyptian woman—a truly beautiful person named Azza—a little more than twelve years ago, back when I was living in Cairo, Egypt, and teaching at the American University in … More I Wish You Well, Omar
The role of Culture in organisations to perpetuate discriminatory practices
May 1, 2023
Watching the news in the UK, it seems as though many organisations, particularly in the public and third sector are riddled with racism, sexism, homophobia and examples of bullying and harassment to such a degree that its embedded in the culture of these organisations. It does make me wonder just how widespread institutional discrimination might … More The role of Culture in organisations to perpetuate discriminatory practices
Sharing is Caring
April 28, 2023
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. … More Sharing is Caring
Take A “Victory Tour”
April 21, 2023
We can’t expect to win awards for everything we do, but we can give ourselves a minute to celebrate our successes. … More Take A “Victory Tour”
Lord Jim
April 14, 2023
Disclaimer: This post has very little to do with the classic novel, Lord Jim. … More Lord Jim
It’s Been Pouring
April 12, 2023
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 … More It’s Been Pouring
The Things We Do For/To Our Kids!
March 24, 2023
Bailey and I loved singing together. We did it all the time around the house and outside in the yard. Here’s what happened when we tried to take it a step further. … More The Things We Do For/To Our Kids!
Want to Write for Wise & Shine?
March 19, 2023
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 … More Want to Write for Wise & Shine?
Rethinking Leisure in the Age of Total Work
March 11, 2023
If you are losing your leisure, look out! –It may be you are losing your soul Virginia Woolf In modern society, work has come to dominate almost all aspects of our lives. One’s identity becomes subsumed by their job title. Days become filled with endless tasks and checklists. Ever increasing productivity seems to be our … More Rethinking Leisure in the Age of Total Work
Evening Routine
February 21, 2023
Hello! We talk about morning routines a lot, as I did here some weeks ago. But we often overlook evening routines, which are also very important. What do we do in the evenings? Let’s say you come from work and what do you do? Personally, I come home, play with my cat, eat dinner or … More Evening Routine
Finding Your Tribe
February 20, 2023
How do you think of your teammates, coworkers, or those close to you? Do you see them as a few welcome acquaintances that you meet with a few times per week? Or are they something more, a necessary support group you can’t live without? In many areas of our lives, we may hear a term, … More Finding Your Tribe
An Explanation
February 17, 2023
Dear Wise & Shine Readers: As some of you might have noticed, I’ve been mostly away from the site in recent weeks. I’m writing to let you know that I’ll be taking a leave of absence from the blog. I’m suffering from extreme burnout. Additionally, I was recently diagnosed with an incurable degenerative condition. I … More An Explanation
Sunday Evening, Long Island, February 2023
February 5, 2023
The laundry is folded (or doing a passable imitation of folded), the dogs are silent and sleeping, and the house is freshly vacuumed, and even though, an hour later, its efforts have already become hard to spot as a fresh battalion of fur easily reclaims its beachheads, the house is still neat and clean (or … More Sunday Evening, Long Island, February 2023
Feeling Engaged or Disengaged at Work: Meditating On Right Livelihood
February 2, 2023
A few weeks back I began to notice … a sense of disengagement from my work. … The ensuing attention brought to mind … right livelihood. … I hadn’t exactly forgotten this, but … More Feeling Engaged or Disengaged at Work: Meditating On Right Livelihood
Let Me Get This off My Chest
January 20, 2023
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 … More Let Me Get This off My Chest
Why Collective Intelligence is Powerful
January 8, 2023
Alone we go faster, together we go further – African proverb To understand why collective intelligence is so powerful, I would like to invite you to think about bees. I find bees fascinating insects. They are hard-working insects. All day long, bees look for and carry nectar from flowers to their beehive to produce very … More Why Collective Intelligence is Powerful
Question of the Day (Inspired by the Red-headed Stranger)
January 5, 2023
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 … More Question of the Day (Inspired by the Red-headed Stranger)
Wise & Shine Podcasts in 2023
January 3, 2023
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 … More Wise & Shine Podcasts in 2023
New Podcast: What Can the World Learn from Africa?
December 27, 2022
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 … More New Podcast: What Can the World Learn from Africa?