Featured Articles
The Why of Art
News of the World
Liberty, Self-Limitation and COVID-19
Human Moments
The Why of Art
Looking up at the stars after an abhorrent and senseless tragedy, the title character in Nikos Kazantzakis’ Zorba the Greek, turns to the narrator, a man who had lived entangled in books, and pleads: ‘What can be happening up there?’ . . . ‘Can you tell me, boss/ he said,…
Literary Sommelier: How Do We Assess Literature
How do we judge a work of art? Can we meaningfully compare Tolstoy and Dickens, or Austin and Proust? Is it a purely subjective matter? Or are some works objectively better than others? When someone recommends a book to us, how are we to tell if it is one that…
The Good and the Ugly in the Practice of Law
By now, most of us are familiar with the mental health risks associated with the practice of law. A 2016 ABA study found 20.6% of lawyers had unhealthy relationships with alcohol, 28% reported symptoms of depression, 19% showed signs of anxiety, and 23% had harmful levels of stress. North Carolina has a long history of attending…
News of the World
When my son was still small, we unplugged the television. It had been a source of news and lazy, easy entertainment. It was even a babysitter when we needed a moment of quiet. Our neighbors and the other parents understood, but did not understand. There was a timid awe and…
Liberty, Self-Limitation and COVID-19
These have been stressful, unusual times. There are no easy answers as to how we protect one another from the medical risks of COVID-19, while also enabling people to support themselves and their families. Opinions vary and emotions run deep. As state and local governments begin to relax the restrictions that have been…
7 Things To Do During The Pandemic
In this time of uncertainty, when so much that we understood and believed about the world, and the way we organized our lives, has been turned upside down, there are a few things we can remember and do to maintain our center and make the best choices for our health and…
Sean on Torro Town Talks
I was honored to have been interviewed by Mikkel Elbech on Torro Town Talks (Illustration by Edson Tako). Check it out here.
10 Questions To Ask In A Different Way
The New Year is often a time for assessing things: For looking back over the past twelve months or twelve years, at our successes and shortcomings, our rejoices and regrets, and for looking ahead at what we hope for the future. The hard thing with any self-assessment, is not the…
Interview – Mud and Dreams
I am so grateful to Senia Maymin and the whole team at Positive Psychology News Daily for their interview of me about Mud and Dreams. You can watch the whole interview here.
Mud and Dreams (Now Available!)
I am excited to announce that my first full book is now available. (You can find it here.) Mud and Dreams is a series of essays on the poetry and science of living. A work of “motivational poetics” the book speaks directly to the human concerns at the center of…