I am a huge fan of George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series, of which A Game of Thrones is the first book. But that’s not what this is about. No, this is about Norway. Or, rather, Norwegian culture. Though I have no Scandinavian blood that I know of, I have developed over my years of living in the Upper Midwest a tremendous admiration for Scandinavian culture. So when I saw these two different articles that capture the resilience and creativity of this Nordic culture that I appreciate so much, I thought I’d share. The first comes from Open Culture, one of my favorite websites, and describes the work of Terje Isungset, a...

I’ve been in too many meetings of late where very little was accomplished. We talked and talked and talked, but almost nothing got done. Discussion meetings are fine and sometimes quite important, but none of these meetings were billed as “discussion only.” I came assuming we had work to get done. The strange, and rather disheartening, thing about it has been that few of the others in attendance seemed to mind. Don’t get me wrong – they didn’t enjoy the meeting; rather, it’s as if they’ve just gotten used to holding meetings for the sake of meeting and no longer expect to get much done. Over time, I suspect, this only...

…you can build it. 🙂 I don’t know why I love this TED Talk from artist Janet Echelman so much. I just know that I do. Maybe it’s her perseverance. After all, she was rejected by seven art schools after college and yet didn’t give up but struck out on her own. Maybe it’s her resourcefulness. When her paints didn’t show up for a show she promised to do in India, she turned to the local fishermen and solicited their help in producing a new piece of art…and art form. Maybe it’s her relentlessness. Again and again, there weren’t materials or technology yet suitable to execute her ideas, so each time she found partners to...

A few weeks ago we had a great discussion about prayer. What it is, what we believe about it, what we don’t understand, what we do, how we practice it, and more. I learned a lot from it and am still mulling it over. Shortly after that, I came upon this interview with Richard Rohr. Richard is a Franciscan monk and author of numerous books, including the recent Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life and Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self. I really appreciated Richard’s view that prayer can be anything – anything done in a state of communion and connection. Communion and connection with God, with others, and...