I am not one to watch short animal YouTubes, but this four-minute video of the reunion between conservationist Damian Aspinall and Kwibi in the African jungle is truly bittersweet. And incredible.
Kwibi grew up with Damian at his Howletts Wild Animal Park in England. When he was five, he was released into the forests of Gabon, West Africa as part of conservation program to re-introduce gorillas back into the wild. Now Kwibi’s over 10 years old, much bigger and stronger.
I am posting Frank Bruni’s New York Times column about how we approach hate.
He offers grey to those of us who think in black and white–reminding us that our point of view can 1) bring people together or 2) drive people apart.
Broadening the topic to the world at large, I know I participate in discussions that are “too limited,” and I cop to being naive at times. How could I not be? It is impossible to absorb all of the elements of an argument. Critical thinking is hard.
However, admitting one’s point of view is vulnerable is a step toward disagreeing more and hating less.
With part of a recent column of mine, I disappointed myself, and maybe I disappointed some of you. I don’t get a do-over, but I do have this newsletter, in which I can own up to my error and make amends.
I’m referring to “Hate Is So Much Bigger Than Trump,” which was published a week and a half ago. It reflected on the mass shootings in El Paso and in Pittsburgh and made the point that the kind of hatred that motivated the gunmen predates the current president and will survive him.
by Mark Nepo
I’ve been watching stars
rely on the darkness they
resist. And fish struggle with
and against the current. And
hawks glide faster when their
wings don’t move.
I have been thinking about happiness lately. Actually I have been thinking about it for 20 years in relation to my private counseling/ coaching practice. I have noticed that the people with the most peace of mind aren’t the ones who judge their days based on a 1-10 scale of whether they are happy. That said there has been a plethora of recent clinical psych research on the subject of happiness, which supports the idea that there is a thirst for what the majority of us believe is possible.
Personally I have come at this topic from the other side:
“Am I unhappy? Really? Right now, what is so terrible that I can conclude I am unhappy?”
Right now is the key to getting clear on this – it narrows my opinion and forces me to be honest.
Below is Darrin McMahon’s 2008 talk on the history of happiness and his perspective. The talk took place at the Happiness and Its Causes Conference in San Francisco – co-sponsored by the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center. McMahon is a professor of history from Florida State and authored the book Happiness, a History.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. Have a great week and we will “talk” soon!
We often turn away from making an effort to gain what we want. We become unnerved and intimidated because we think we are too young, too old, too out of the loop – to succeed. The truth is most people underestimate what they can do with steady long-term effort. The Daily Stoic’s recent post reminds us to steadily push for the life we want. No matter our age, pick up the broom and begin.Thanks for reading TalkingBitterSweet.com.
When all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free. ~ Barack Obama
Kyle Korver is a professional NBA basketball player for the Utah Jazz. He recently wrote a very good article on how he processed the NYC police assault and arrest of his fellow teammate, Thabo, in 2015.
Kyle is white.
As I typed the previous sentence, I stopped. The world “white” seems glaring when it stands alone. It’s short, simple and clean, isn’t it? As opposed to yellow, red, brown or black.
The dictionary defines white as “being free of color, free from blemish and moral impurity.” “Free of” sounds like “freedom” to me.
White is also defined as “being of good character as in, ‘that’s mighty white of you.’”
Another definition of white is “innocent, favorable, and fortunate.”
Isn’t it interesting that it seems difficult to metaphorically hang anything on “white” except maybe bigotry.
So… what about this post qualifies as “bittersweet?”
While it is deeply troubling to have denied minorities the same level of education and opportunity we provide the majority, the sweet side of the coin is that we have a choice. We can admit our bias and commit to correcting it – keeping in mind we will not see the result of our efforts for several generations.
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