How existential philosophy made me a better manual worker
Read moreSometimes, when I remark that I have always enjoyed manual labor, friends and colleagues comment that it is relatively easy for someone like me to make that kind of statement. My experiences as a factory line worker, winery laborer, security guard, painter, delivery person, and such, were all temporary passages in life, rather than jobs I was stuck in for
Reasons to Smile at Work
Read moreThese days, several elements seem to be conspiring to encourage me to extend our “visit” to the winery of my student years. First, my own reprocessing of this period from my past continues to yield surprises, and that has indeed been fascinating for me. Second, I am finding the lessons from this time more interesting and important to my current thinking than I had
Philosophy as Food for Life
Read moreThis week, I happened upon an article in the New York Times entitled “Philosophy’s True Home”. The author, Scott Soames, is director of the school of philosophy at the University of Southern California. Professor Soames weighs in on a debate among contemporary intellectuals about what philosophy’s place should be. He argues against the prevailing view that philosophy is an isolated, “ivory tower” discipline, cut
The Value of Rekindling your Past
Read moreI often joke with colleagues, clients, and friends that we human beings need to learn the same lessons over and over, until we internalize them and integrate them into our worldview. Based on recent experience, this seems to be true for me. In the past few weeks, with people requesting more of my personal anecdotes, I’ve been reflecting on my time
Tapping into my own human spirit
Read moreWhen I began my meanderings into the realm of Greek mythology last week—my rumination on Sisyphus and existential philosophy, and making connections with my job as a winery worker—it was not without some hesitation. Not wanting to make my blog—or any of my writing—self-absorbed, I have often shied away from writing about myself and my personal experience. Now, I am
The road to self-engagement: we are free to shape our worlds
Read moreThroughout my career, both in business and as a teacher, I have encouraged people to explore a diversity of subjects in their education, and to seek out a variety of experiences in their lives. One of the ways this all became part of my own story of identity happened during my undergraduate study and work at the Bordeaux winery, which I was