For the last 117 days I’ve been writing a haiku a day. I was inspired by John Paul Lederach’s self-challenge of writing a haiku each day for a year. I was also seeking to add to my personal resilience practice in a way that would increase my daily mindfulness and reflection. And so, I started writing a haiku a day. If you are new to haiku, it is a three-line poem where the first line is five syllables, the second seven, and the third five. In 17 syllables one must simpl

“Are you interested in tarot?” she asked? “No, actually. I’m interested in haiku.” “Oh! I always thought haiku was so hard. You know when I read it as a kid. I just didn’t get it. And it’s hard…” There it was. Certainly everyone engaging with this exhibit must be interested in tarot because haiku is too difficult and enigmatic. “Well, I don’t get hung up on the hard part. I write what comes. I’m not concerned with writing an amazingly fabulously brilliantly

Monday morning. Blog posting day. Crap. My friend Michael sent me this haiku when I described the problem to him: Busy, busy week Blog post simply passed me by These few words still count Exactly. It did pass me by this week. And as I sat pondering what to write today, nothing came. Or, rather, everything came. So many ideas and thoughts and half baked beginnings of something. And nothing concrete. So I decided to do something else for a bit and see what surfaced.

Their faces were priceless as they gaped at me - the group of young people from around Southeast Asia finishing up their Global Leadership & Engagement Program organized by Volunteers in Asia (VIA). They thought they were going to learn something about peacebuilding and conflict resolution. They were at a complete loss as to why we were doing martial arts punches and blocks. I’ve been practicing martial arts for some years now, and while I always knew there were connections

For me, my own real journey with reflective practice started as part of a comeback. And I know I’m not the only person for whom that is true. At some point or another, we all find ourselves broken. As we sit with our brokenness and remember who we used to be, we start questioning if we can come back and, if so, how to go about it. On the other hand, why would we even want to try? Who’s to say we can’t settle into our brokenness, nurturing the pieces and refusing to let t

I have recently been pondering the challenges of mindfully starting a mindful startup - and there will be more on that coming soon. First, though, this weekend happened, bringing with it a bit of clarity and perspective. A good friend/colleague and I managed to be in the same place at the same time - a campground in beautiful upstate New York. A fellow talking stick making devotee, this colleague and I are planning some upcoming creative reflective retreats and other projec

Reflective practice is not just something that is of value for practitioners on an individual level. It’s also something we can incorporate into our work with a group. I have just returned to San Diego after teaching on the first week of a three-month peace and conflict resolution course in Bangkok that’s part of Rotary International’s focus on peace education. There were twenty-four Rotary Peace Fellows in the class from almost twenty countries. All were highly accomplis

Part of reflective practice involves mindfulness. I have already asked the question of how to grab hold of those fleeting moments that randomly pop up and give us pause throughout the day. One of the many ways I have found to do this is through poetry. While I used to write poetry when I was younger, I wrote my first haiku only recently. In fact, I had completely stopped writing poetry far too many years ago. I suppose my rational, adult brain decided I had grown out of t

I was out for a run on a trail near my home in San Diego. It was very hot, which, combined with my lack of fitness, meant that my run had actually been reduced to a walk. The change of speed helped me to notice things more closely. Crossing over the smooth rocks in the dry bed of an arroyo my eye was caught by the lightening-blackened scar on a dead, twisted manzanita branch on the ground. Manzanita is a beautiful, small tree that grows in southern California. It has a r

Ever feel like you are losing the spark of creativity, inspiration, or innovation? Or wonder how to nourish that flame inside yourself? Ever watch as a seemingly powerless spectator as the flame sputtered and faltered and perhaps even disappeared? Ever been faced with a problem you knew could be solved with a creative solution only to find yourself at a loss about how to find that creative solution? Have you ever considered the role of reflective practice in keeping the cr

If I told you I was going to start a training center related to peacebuilding and conflict resolution and asked you where I should locate it, Bangkok might come up at some point in the conversation. After all, Bangkok is in many ways a regional hub and hosts regional offices for many international nongovernmental, governmental, and other organizations. Besides, if we were having that conversation you would probably already know that I live in Bangkok and, anyway, who doesn’