Blog

I have a side gig. I am teaching Afghan refugees English. It is a meaningful service opportunity that is feeding my spirit.

This week I planned a field trip with them.

These women are family members of former New York Times employees. When the Taliban took over Afghanistan last August, the NYT got their people out on one of the last flights out of Kabul.

Since coming to Houston, the only outside food they have eaten is Afghan and Persian food, so I decided to take them out to eat and do some clothes shopping.

The day before the trip, I was stunned to find out that one husband told his wife that she couldn't attend. He allegedly said that she should stay home with her kids and that America is not good for women.

This prompted a side conversation with another woman in which I asked about the matter. She told me, “My husband is different. He says that I must go and go and go and go.”

Imagine my surprise when all the women showed up...

Happy Summer 2021! The flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, and this summer already feels so much better than the Covid summer of 2020. I hope you can feel the hopefulness in the air.

The theme of June in my classes is "service." After all, the more you give, the more you receive. I know that you all do so much for so many. So, for me, service is not necessarily about "doing" more. It is about cultivating an attitude of service. I once heard Deepak Chopra say that one mantra that he repeats all day long is "How may I serve?" 

I did this recently in the grocery store. The line for the one open check-out was really long and the customers (me too!) were getting flustered and edgy. I took the approach to start repeating "How may I serve?"

Another cashier soon showed up and made the announcement that the next person in line should come to her check-out. Of course, when this happens...which customer is actually next? There were like six of us.

So, I nudged the guy ahead of me to...