Take A “Victory Tour”
We can’t expect to win awards for everything we do, but we can give ourselves a minute to celebrate our successes. Continue reading Take A “Victory Tour”
Category: Work and Life
Lord Jim
Disclaimer: This post has very little to do with the classic novel, Lord Jim. Continue reading Lord Jim
It’s Been Pouring
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
The Things We Do For/To Our Kids!
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. Continue reading The Things We Do For/To Our Kids!
Want to Write for Wise & Shine?
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?
Rethinking Leisure in the Age of Total Work
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 guiding principle. In a highly competitive global economy, efficiency trumps … Continue reading Rethinking Leisure in the Age of Total Work
Evening Routine
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 drink tea while watching TV or spending time on social … Continue reading Evening Routine
Finding Your Tribe
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, but we aren’t always clear on what it means to … Continue reading Finding Your Tribe
An Explanation
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 won’t die from this illness, but I will become increasingly … Continue reading An Explanation
Sunday Evening, Long Island, February 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 doing a passable imitation of neat and clean). Monday looms … Continue reading Sunday Evening, Long Island, February 2023
Feeling Engaged or Disengaged at Work: Meditating On Right Livelihood
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 Continue reading Feeling Engaged or Disengaged at Work: Meditating On Right Livelihood
Let Me Get This off My Chest
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
Why Collective Intelligence is Powerful
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 useful products for us as well, like honey and royal … Continue reading Why Collective Intelligence is Powerful
Question of the Day (Inspired by the Red-headed Stranger)
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)
Wise & Shine Podcasts in 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 from readers and experts who’d like to be a part … Continue reading Wise & Shine Podcasts in 2023
New Podcast: What Can the World Learn from Africa?
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?
I Said Goodbye to a Great Man
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
Max Dodo
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
Podcast: How Free Are We?
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?
How Working Too Much Hampers Your Happiness
Your well-being should be your priority, and working too much might hamper your happiness. Our consumerist society often leads us to reverse our priorities in ways that can seriously affect our quality of life and our physical, mental, and emotional health. Ultimately, our happiness. With an increasing rhythm of life, inflation, and bills piling up, we are more and more concerned about working, earning a … Continue reading How Working Too Much Hampers Your Happiness