Despite what we often think or tell ourselves, times like these remind us that resiliency matters. The question is, how does one go about being resilient in the midst of such? Hopefully, there has been a bit of preplanning and preparation, but there are still things we can do even at this stage. Here are a few examples.

I fell in love with the game in fifth grade when our teacher stopped class in the afternoon so we could listen to the World Series broadcast. He told stories about the players that made them romantic in the heroic sense. The 1957 Series showcased the Milwaukee Braves against the New York Yankees. I was a Braves fan. I mean, look at that roster … Lew Burdette, Warren Spahn, Dell Crandall, Joe Adcock, Eddie Matthews, Red Schoendienst, Hank Aaron, and Bobby Thompson to name a few. Man, what a roster. Burdette won three games, including the seventh at Yankee Stadium, and won the Series MVP award.

Last year I set a goal to read 36 books. It is a modest number compared to what some undertake, but I wanted to re-engage my love of reading without creating pressure to hit a big number. I wanted to enjoy the process and knew that getting through three books a month could be a challenge at times. In the end, I read forty-five books.

Last weekend we took an impromptu drive to an area we had not experienced before. We do this occasionally when the whim strikes. Sometimes, you just gotta go.

As the world grows more complex there is real value in appreciating the science and art of minimalism and applying it to our lives. Long a fan of clean design, I am more and more a fan of minimalism in process, connectivity, and relationships as well.

The way we conduct our national discourse matters more than we appreciate. A short history lesson is instructive.

Reading and I have long had an interesting relationship. I struggled with it in school until I fell in love with story telling the summer before sixth grade. My mother shooed me out of the house one day in frustration, telling me to “go to the library or something!” in exasperation.