I've been thinking about the things that I think I excel at. I don't mean specific skills or talents, like dancing or public speaking, although that is certainly important. I am thinking more about broad buckets of strengths that I have. Here's what I've come up with so far. Active Listening I'm a good listener….
Category: The Spirit
Message to President-elect Trump from New York Quakers: Reject Hatred and Bigotry
Here is the message that was communicated from New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) to President-elect Donald Trump a few days ago. Although I have not attended Quaker Meeting for a very long time, I am still formally a member of the New York Yearly Meeting and the Brooklyn Monthly…
RIP Sharon Jones: My Inspiration and Friend
The great soul singer Miss Sharon Jones passed away yesterday, after a long, brutal and unflinchingly public fight with cancer. I’m just crushed by the news, at the tail end of a big bummer of a year. But I’m also inspired. Who I am as a dancer — and a person — was significantly shaped by…
Lin-Manuel Miranda: “Hearts Open, Minds Sharp…”
Channeling some Lin-Manuel Miranda today. Good morning. Eyes up. Hearts up. Minds sharp. Compassion on full blast. (Sips coffee)Okay let's go. — Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) July 8, 2016
“Vulnerable”: Photo Essay on Feelings of Insecurity and Sadness at a Dance Camp
Sarah Warny Berg created this wonderful photo essay about some of the darker feelings and thoughts experienced during the Herräng Dance Camp. Obviously this isn't exclusive to this camp or these people, but touches on some universal experiences we all go through but don't express often. I can totally relate to many of the sentiments…
Nana’s Rolls, Mom’s Spaghetti, Nairobian Langoustines: Your Wonderful Food Stories
For my birthday this year, I decided to request my friends to send me personal stories about food. I’m so impressed with the stories that people shared! Here are some of my favorites. Mom’s Noodles Credit: CC-licensed photo by Cameron Cassan Homemade spaghetti came up a couple of times in friend's stories. My friend Jim…
Kingsolver: “What I want is so simple…”
My boss Jon Foley at the California Academy of Sciences shared this wonderful quote from the author Barbara Kingsolver in her book Animal Dreams, which really speaks to my condition right now: “The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is…
Figs, Proscuitto and A Birthday Request to You
It was the summer of 1998. I was on a work trip to Rome, Italy with some colleagues at the human rights group I worked for a the time, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. We were being treated to dinner by a local Italian human rights nonprofit. It was one of our first…
Keeping the Channel Open
I've been thinking hard for the past month or so about this quote from the dance legend Martha Graham about staying true to your own personal voice in whatever you create. Blogger James Clear recounts a story about Agnes De Mille, another dance legend in her own right in the 1940s, who was confused and troubled…
Cold Showers and Tackling the Hard Stuff: Crushing the 30-day Cold Shower Challenge
Today I completed a challenge that I told myself was impossible : the 30-Day Cold Shower Challenge. But the question everyone asks me is… Why? Why? Why would I do something so obviously uncomfortable to myself every morning? Well there’s actually a good bit of research into the health benefits of cold showers. These include : increased…