Rule number one: be kind. Now let me pause to officially welcome you. I’m truly glad to have a reader. So how might I show kindness in this admittedly uni-directional medium? Perhaps the best I can do is be honest and authentic, or at least as honest and authentic as an anonymous Nobody can be. I can advocate for kindness, and do my best to allow kindness to guide whatever stories, ideas, or persuasions I might share.

Rule number two: seek understanding. Everybody is talking. Usually past each other. Discussions are replaced by maneuvers. Psychology tells us whoever is first and loudest wins. So we shout as quickly as we can without taking the necessary time to understand, to think, to ponder, to wrestle with nuance, with consequence. Although I am here, broadcasting my own words into the void, I am doing so as an expression of my own journey as a seeker of truth, understanding, compassion, growth, and perspective. And don’t get too comfortable because rest assured, my perspective will change along the way.

Rule number three: laugh. At any opportunity, appropriate or not, find reasons to laugh. Humor heals. Humor empowers. Humor is an act of resistance in a brutal world. It can be an expression of joy and a means of survival, and I hope you will find it here.