Quiet kindness of letting it be

77% Weekly Newsletter

Quiet kindness of letting it be

“Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true.”

Robert Brault

“Annie,” I say, pointing upward to indicate I will be referencing the soundtrack of Come From Away we’re listening to.

I steal a glance at my soulful daughter and continue, “This version has more in it than I’m used to.”

“No, this is the same one,” she replies, as we work on organizing the garage together. She pauses, then insists, “No. It’s the same.”

It’s not.
I know it’s not.

The version that we’re listening to has some verses and dialogue that had been cut from the Come From Away album stored on my iPhone, dating from the days when we carefully managed our music libraries.

As Spotify streams words that I don’t remember in the number “38 Planes,” I resist the urge to pull out my phone to prove I’m right.

“Oh,” I say.

5 wisdom biscuits

Five Wisdom Biscuits

tasty, bite-sized, easily digestible bits of insight ✧✧✧1. Humility, Always.✧✧✧ We need to be humble when we are wrong.AndWe need to be humble when we are right. “When I am wrong, makeme willing to change.When I am right, makeme easy to live with.”—John C. Maxwell ✧✧✧2. LOFTY GOALS✧✧✧ A quote by my BFF Larry Keene: “Our standardsare beyond us for

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Annoyance Bingo

Annoyance Bingo.Lose your patience. Win big. ✧✧✧ Game play begins Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 12:00am PT — First Prize: $100 ✧✧✧ The Origin of Annoyance Bingo. For years, I’ve asked mourners at funerals to track the least compassionate things said in an attempt to comfort them — and send me the best (and worst) examples. The idea: when someone

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Image of a child doing a shoulder ride.

Wastefully

  Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong would answer the question “how shall we express love?” with a single word: “Wastefully.”    ✧✧✧   We don’t express love wastefully. A story and then some thinking about why.   ✧✧✧   It’s 2006. I’m in NYC to—among other things—celebrate the fifth birthday of my first niece, Maya.  I wait outside her school

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77% Weekly Newsletter
77% Weekly Newsletter