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“For every complex problem there is an easy answer, and it is wrong.” H.L. Mencken I am rarely unequivocal. A true and unrehabilitatable liberal, I’m always open to the possibility that someone else’s idea just might be better than mine. But this is one topic on which I take no prisoners. (The other one, specifically

“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” James Thurber Yesterday’s exercise in being flexible enough to stop trying to change things beyond our control is just the start. This new worldview only has a chance of sticking if we embrace uncertainty. Our Western culture is not so good

“You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf.” Swami Satchitananda I can’t say it any more clearly than that. I came of age in the 60’s and the 70’s, when the Serenity Prayer was becoming a bit of a cliché. That powerful mantra that helped so many people get their lives back

“Nobody can do two things at once, you know.” The Red Queen, via Lewis Carroll (Through the Looking Glass) Take that, multi-taskers. The Red Queen was a tough customer, but she had much to teach Alice that is more important today than ever. Endless scientific studies are showing us what we already knew; that it’s

“Nothing can be more useful to a man than a determination not to be hurried.” Henry David Thoreau Of all the bon mots that I’ve shamelessly stolen for the last few weeks, these are the ones that strike closest to home. Daily life is getting faster and faster for many of us, and yet our

“To the man who only has a hammer in the toolkit, every problem looks like a nail.” Abraham Maslow Remember yesterday’s brick wall? You do owe it to yourself to get back up again after you’ve been knocked down. But there’s nothing that says you have to keep going back for the exact same punishment.

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” Franklin D. Roosevelt If all of this worked like a charm, everyone would do it. If all we had to do is prepare honestly and then perform with grace and flexibility, it would be hard but not crushing. But for

“Chance favors the prepared mind.” Louis Pasteur We started the week by acknowledging the existence of chance; by considering what it means to make friends with unpredictability and welcome its gifts.  But here’s the back story: those gifts come to us more easily if we’re ready. We have to stay loose and let go of

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” Leonard Bernstein We know we need a plan. A method in the middle of the madness. Both on the micro level (how to get to that 10am audition on time), and from the global perspective (how to cobble together enough

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams We’ve been trafficking in some pretty heavy thinkers so far, and I’m sure that Scott Adams (the creator of “Dilbert”) would be bemused to share space with Proust and Eliot.  But he has more than earned his place by