Connecting with someone takes effort. The action comes in being fully present, mindful and focused on them and no one else. Recently my wife and I have been driving our daughter to a horse stable to ride and take care of her horse. It is about a 15-minute drive each way from our house. The… Read more about As if no one else is around

It happened twice today. The first was my excitement over a strangers departure on a thrilling overseas adventure. The second one happened as I talked to a friend headed on a weekend trip to one of my favorite childhood vacation spots. As a spectator on both accounts, I still became excited over what they would… Read more about Excited for them

The Chinese term for relationship “guanxi” is difficult for a Westerner to understand. The word has differences that are not only helpful for navigating friendships and society in China but also in the West. China has fascinated me my whole life. As a way of both learning more and exploring our connectedness I plan to… Read more about Guanxi

I was listening to a friends life story recently. Hearing someone recount the ups and downs of their journey is rewarding. Not one is alike, and if you pay close attention, you can pick up themes that even they do not often see. Besides these themes is the beauty we can overlook in the hardest… Read more about Finding beauty in between

There is so much complexity to each of our lives. We have parts of ourselves we don’t share openly and even ones that we forget or have to leave out. Just like a movie is nothing like the book, we pick and choose the parts to share because it would be impossible to include every… Read more about What we don’t know

My daughter overheard a friend and I signing off on a phone conversation. “Love ya,” my friend said, and I returned with “love you too man.” “Do men usually say that to each other?” she asked? Her question was the beginning of a great conversation about terms of endearment. I explained that there were a… Read more about Love ya

I was out weeding in my yard early this morning when I heard something across the fence and through our neighbour’s window. “You’ve been here just waiting for me!?” said a young mother in soft loving voice to her baby seeing his mother for the first time that day. It was heart warming. Right away… Read more about The delight in her voice