Faith minus vulnerability is fundamentalism

In many ways, September feels like the busiest time of the year: The kids go back to school, work piles up after the summer's dog days, and Thanksgiving is suddenly upon us.

When you don't put your initials behind your name, and I've got tons of them, and when you talk about storytelling or love or gratitude, you're diminishing your legitimacy and importance in this world.

We can talk about courage and love and compassion until we sound like a greeting card store, but unless we're willing to have an honest conversation about what gets in the way of putting these into practice in our daily lives, we will never change. Never, ever.

Talk about your failures without apologizing.

I'm an academic. I'm hardwired for a good debate.

I now see how gifts like courage, compassion, and connection only work when they are exercised. Every day.