Kindness ripples through the fabric of humanity.
Think about the last time you took a moment to be kind… Maybe someone dropped papers, and you helped them pick them up. Maybe you held the door for someone. Maybe you offered an encouraging word to someone who was struggling. According to research from the University of California, San Diego and Harvard, the kindness […]
Worry is not work.
If I’m not worrying about the world, who will? I take “breaks” from social media and the news. But then I feel guilty. If I’m not worrying about the world, who will? I watch 90’s sitcoms with my wife and for an hour I forget about the plight of the most vulnerable. But then I […]
There are “levels” of kindness.
It seems to me that there should be explicit “levels” of kindness. Since I couldn’t find any I liked, I made my own: LEVEL 1 – Someone is kind to you, so you’re kind back. Repaying kindness for kindness is easy. It is quite common. In fact, many scholars argue convincingly that reciprocity is the […]
A tool for solving drama.
Last week’s email introduced the concept of personality disorders. You can read it here: https://www.homelesstraining.com/people-dont-call-them-mentally-ill-they-call-them-jerks/ This week I want to share a quick tool for managing the drama created by someone suffering from a personality disorder. It comes directly from Dr. Gregory Lester, who is this month’s webinar. If you want to watch my interview […]
Trying to live a kind life…
Howdy! For this weekly newsletter, I usually either explain the science of de-escalation or share a reflection on “trying to live a kind life in an oftentimes unkind world.” Once a year, though, I take a moment to introduce myself to new readers. So, here’s me… The “career” stuff: The “family” stuff: The “weird” stuff: […]
There are no Saints.
There are only two types of people in this world: Type 1: Good People They are kind and patient. They volunteer at homeless shelters. They help little old ladies across the street and find lost cats. They watch documentaries, read the BBC, listen to NPR, drive the speed limit and cross the street at crosswalks. […]
Are spiders eating holes in my brain?
Hey everybody! As promised, here is another book excerpt from this month’s guest Esmé Weijun Wang about living with Schizophrenia: Dr. M told me that the longer the episode lasted, and the more frequently the episodes occurred, the more damage was occurring to my brain. It is disconcerting for anyone to be told that her […]
How do you hide a hallucination?
Howdy! Did you know as many as 27% of individuals who are chronically homeless suffer with schizophrenia? This month, we are interviewing Esmé Weijun Wang, a New York Times bestselling author. In her book, “The Collected Schizophrenias,”, Esmé shares her journey from being diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teen to learning she had schizophrenia 12 […]
Cruelty is a knife with no handle.
Last week my wife and I spent a couple days at a “tiny home subdivision” for formerly chronically homeless folks in Austin, Texas. The peace I felt there was a stark contrast to the angst I feel about the upcoming election. It put me in a reflective mood… — Cruelty is a knife with no handle. […]
The important part is that the fire not go out.
In this week’s newsletter I want to do something different. Normally, I break down a scientific idea and connect it to homelessness or de-escalation. But today, I just feel anxious. I feel anxious about the upcoming election…. I feel anxious because I don’t know how AI is going to change the world, especially for my […]
