He gripped the pen like a marlinspike.
– said of Jack London
The Discover What Matters™ blog by Charles Carlson fuses several traditions: Zen teachings, nature writing and cultural criticism—all of which place a heavy emphasis on truth, a no-nonsense sensibility and a love of language. Like any good voyage of discovery the blog covers a wide range of subjects affecting modern life: spirituality, ethics, family, work, relationships, language and more.
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Last week—no, the last many months—have been difficult for me. I've sat down many times to write about what this presidential election means for America. But I don't write about politics. I write about words, mind, spirituality and the human condition, so I struggled with how to... [if you're on a smart phone, click on the photo above to read more.]
Another mass shooting, another round of searching for answers. How could someone do this? Why only in America? The debate has come down to a two-sided choice: the death toll is the result of lax gun regulation. Or the real culprit isn’t guns, but mental illness. What if both sides are wrong? What if the shootings are a result of something much larger?
How does our worldview change as we age? I pondered that question this week as the news broke that HarperCollins would be publishing a new book by Harper Lee, the author of *To Kill a Mockingbird.* The story interested me for several reasons: first the fact that it was such a huge story; as a writer I'm always gratified to see the general public get so passionate about books. The top trending tweets for several days had the keywords "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Harper Lee."
I woke up this morning pondering the question: “What does it mean to be super?” Today is the day of the big game, the Super Bowl, which is really more than a big football game. It is a cultural ritual, a national holiday of sorts, a ceremony and celebration of all that is American: big, brash, bold and, well, super.
Superman was, after all, the invention of an American mind, as is super-sized food portions (MacDonalds), and supermodels...
