In April I was in Guelph, near Toronto, Canada, co-leading an Art of Hosting training. A new word the group invented was "vulnerageous", a unique mash-up of “vulnerable” and “courageous.”

This word has been traveling with me and seems especially called for right now if you really want to show up aut...

 Most of us carry stuff around with us every day. A wallet. A phone. Important papers. A computer.

But there are also invisible things that people carry. Worries. Ideas. Traumas. Dreams.

These invisible onboarders help to determine your life.

I remember when I was 25 and I moved to New Zealand. I...

Yesterday started out cool and rainy. I caught up with an old friend of mine in the University town of Erlangen, Germany, north of Munich. We had breakfast together in a delightful café with a fabulous menu. 

I’m the kind of person with a talking piece in every pocket, so I laid a painted stone bet...

I've just returned to Ohio from Guelph, a small city (sometimes called "The Royal City") just outside Toronto in Canada. If you've never heard of it, you're not alone, although that also means you don't know about "Guelphiness" or that it is both an agricultural and an innovation hub. 

Guelph sits ...

They say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I've also learned that if the inquiry is sincere, the opportunity arises...

Since the beginning of the year I have been journeying with the question: "What is life helping me see about my journey into eldership and stewarding?" So I shou...

When I was around 16 my mother asked me if I'd like to meet Rob. My mother was a Guidance Counselor at the High School and Rob was the son of her colleague.

Rob had just returned from being an exchange student in Japan. Now you need to know that in the 1970s there was no such thing as sushi on ever...

I'd already been in New Zealand for more than 10 years when I complained to another storyteller friend about the incessant question: "Where are you from?"

I called it "my graciousness question." when I was feeling gracious I knew it was a question that helped people make connection, and indeed, in ...

But first, a small but potent memory...

I remember someone long ago who, after regarding me thoughtfully for some time, said: "If you were to have had the ordinary life, you would have had it by now!"

Still, it felt like it started ordinary enough. On this day -- February 14 -- we celebrated Valen...

I've often found that the things truly worth experiencing challenge you to see if you are really committed. That happened to us in my last week in Africa, on the way to Mana Pools -- a UNESCO Heritage site which is a haven to all kinds of wild animals. 

Mana Pools is in the north of Zimbabwe on the...

I've been quiet for some time now, just cooking on my last journey and reflecting on the state of our world. There are two stories that stick with me from my very brief week in Istanbul. They reflect two lenses on what is happening and how we can host it.

The first is a moment in our Art of Hosting...

I've just come back from spending a week in a house surrounded by forest in Connecticut. It had no internet, so I got away from the keyboard and the scrolling and spent time reading, resting and reflecting.

On my way there I stayed two nights with the vibrant and thoughtful Juanita Brown and her pa...

Stories in a word...

German journalist Uwe von Seltmann fell in love with the Yiddish language and culture and has written many books about music, writers and history. These days he tours giving readings through Germany and the world. Here he talks about a favourite Yiddish word "die Levone" or moo...