In a recent essay, I encountered an observation by the poet David Whyte: “To become intimate is to become vulnerable not only to what I want and desire in my life, but to the fear I have of my desire being met.” Intimacy, a complex and often terrifying endeavor, is nonetheless one of the most…
Uncertainty
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, a cornerstone of quantum mechanics, posits that there’s an inherent limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties, like position and momentum, can be simultaneously measured. Essentially, the more accurately we measure one property, the less accurately we can know the other. This principle challenges our classical intuition,…
Appreciate
I deeply appreciate the many different people I encounter. The word ‘appreciate’ perfectly captures the sentiment I feel, and a recent experience with a new friend solidified this feeling. The other morning, we had the privilege of meeting a new friend who has been courageously battling a neurological disease for over a decade. Despite his…
All the People We Used To Be
Maria Popova observes, “One of the things no one tells us as we grow up is that we will be living in a world rife with ghosts — all of our disappointed hopes and our outgrown dreams, all the abandoned novels and unproven theorems, all the people we used to love, all the people we…
Rejected Stones
Western North Carolina and its people have endured immense suffering since Hurricane Helena. The once vibrant town of Fairview, where my daughter and her family reside, now bears the scars of the storm like so many other communities. As the news of the devastation unfolded, Suzy shared her sorrow, “It feels like we’ve lost a…