Getting to know meditation (Part Two)

Meditation isn’t easily defined. To begin with, there are hundreds of techniques, but most practitioners fall into a few categories. On top stands mindfulness meditation (currently the fastest-growing), followed by mantra meditation (better known as Transcendental Meditation), Zen meditation, Vipassanā (insight) meditation, loving-kindness (Metta) meditation, yoga-based meditation and Christian contemplative prayer (see chart).

At what age do people begin? This varies by culture. In traditional cultures with strong Buddhist or Hindu traditions, many children are introduced before the age of 10, with formal training beginning in adolescence. In modern Western countries, people begin much later, between an individual’s 20s to 50s, which is the most common starting period. 

Often entering the practice is triggered by stress, illness, burnout, or a life transition. In the US, meditation users are disproportionately middle-aged adults. You can wonder if meditation usually become a lifetime practice and the answer is yes, at least traditionally. In Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, and contemplative Christian traditions, meditation is generally viewed as a lifelong discipline, similar to physical exercise or prayer. 

However, modern secular meditation is different as many practitioners meditate for stress reduction and many quite once the immediate problem improves while others yet cycle in and out of practice. Research on meditation apps consistently finds that long-term adherence is difficult. There’s no single global figure, but dropout rates are high. Depending on the program, short mindfulness courses often lose from 20 to 50% of their participants before completion.

Meditation apps frequently lose the majority of users within a few months and only a minority maintain a daily practice for years. In the US, one large study showed that about 79% of people who had ever meditated had also practiced within the previous year, suggesting many continue at least intermittently, so meditation is not usually abandoned completely, but consistent daily practice is much rarer than occasional one.

In the next blog, we’ll explores the most well-know and also potential drawbacks of the practice...

Getting to know meditation (Part One)

For almost six and a half years I’ve been meditating without missing one single day. I had begun in 1969, dropping off and restarting for short periods every now and then. With that in mind, don’t jump to the conclusion that meditation is addictive, because it’s generally not considered pathological, though some people become attached to the pleasant mental states it can produce. 

It’s simply hard to stick to it for a wide variety of reasons. Yes, there are hundreds of millions of people who meditate worldwide and the practice is gaining rapidly more followers, especially in the mindfulness category. Unlike myself, most people can’t maintain a strict daily practice for long periods of time as dropout rates are substantial, especially during the first few months after they get started. 

Meditating begins anywhere from childhood (in traditional cultures) to middle age (in secular settings like our Western world). Reliable country-by-country statistics exist only for some nations; the highest participation appears in countries where meditation is integrated into religious and cultural life (see table). 

The biggest uncertainty lies in Asia, where meditation is often embedded within religious life and may not be measured separately from prayer, temple attendance, yoga, or other spiritual practices. For countries such as India, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, China, and Japan, the cultural importance of meditation is clear, but rigorous nationally representative prevalence figures are surprisingly scarce. 

One interesting conclusion from the available data is that modern secular countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States now report meditation participation rates comparable to—or sometimes higher than—those measured in many traditionally Buddhist countries, depending on how "meditation" is defined, which is a dimension we’ll explore in the next blog.

Barbecue spring cleaning

A few days ago, I received a postcard from Bar-B-Clean, a local franchise inviting me to have someone come to my house to clean our patio barbecue, so I wouldn’t have to get my hands dirty. I did it myself last year and must admit that it’s not one of my favorite chores!

In addition to that, Americans love to have someone to inspect, repair if necessary and lube their bicycles before riding season or “detail” their car right at their home, so why not their sacrosanct summer grill? I checked the prices and for an average size barbecue like ours, it would cost us from $250 to $350. 

What might influence an exact final quote include the size of the device. For instance a larger or built-in grills might exceed $800. If something additional might be required, just plan on a base rate of $125 per hour and parts. 

The company utilizes deep steam cleaning and degreasing so the inside of the grill is free of residue and completely clean to the touch. 

With about $25 in supplies, my wife and I (almost) did as good a job in less than 2 hours that afternoon. 

Our grill doesn’t quite look brand new, but still is very clean and saved ourselves a pretty $275!

Park City’s last patch of snow

Same thing every year. June 16 holds a special significance to me. On that day in 1985 as I was house-hunting and had rented a large camcorder to shoot a movie of the house we bought in Park City, for my wife to see and hopefully, get her stamp of approval. 

There was a bull-eye window in the house, and through it, I accidentally captured Jupiter Peak with a tiny snow patch left just below the summit, just like you can see on the picture below! 

What’s amazing is that this winter was our worst snow year ever, and yet after an excellent 1984-1985 snow season, we have as much snow left this year not to mention even more around the main bowl and Portuguese Gap, thanks to some cool weather in April, May and June. 

Amazing isn’t it?

 

Disappointing skier visits!

At long last, I just heard about Utah’s skier visit numbers for the 2025-2026 winter season. At just 4.8 million (an amount rounded up it seems, to suggest a bit less in reality) this represents a drop of 26.2 % for our 15 ski resorts compared to the previous season, a significant decline, even more than Colorado’s down by 24%. 

It was also a large drop-off from the record-setting 7.1 million visits recorded when Utah received a record-high snowfall during the 2022-2023 season. A Ski Utah spokesperson said that “...The big takeaway from this year is that it really is just an anomaly, and the ski industry here in Utah is really at the mercy of Mother Nature.” 

I wish I could agree that it’s just an “anomaly” when in fact, I believe, it’s more the beginning of a trend, showing that global warming is here to stay, should be taken much more seriously and won’t go away any time soon. 

Historically, Utah experienced its lowest snow-pack on record, which reflects the amount of water in new snowfall, but many resorts also struggled to maintain operations because of record-warm temperatures throughout most of the winter. Long, warm periods between storms and warmer precipitation that produced more rain in higher-elevation areas than is the case typically, while also making it difficult for them to produce artificial snow. 

What this dismal season tells me is something about politics. Short-sighted politicians are woefully unable to address long-term needs, like global warming and have no problem sacrificing long-term solutions for short-term gains. Not only in the US where Trump and his republican allies are turning their back to the environment, but also in Europe where the sacrifices required from a sound climate protection strategy seem unaffordable in their short-term lens.

Finding good information today (Part Five)

We all want to “develop a sound opinion” and today we’ll talk about a framework that will move us out of tribal narratives. We’ll start with the problem, not the positions by asking: 

• “What is the underlying issue?” 
• “What are the incentives of the actors involved?” 
• “What constraints shape their behavior?” 

We then identify the trade-offs, not the “right answer” Every real issue has costs, benefits, winners and losers. So, sound opinions come from mapping trade-offs, not picking sides. Nothing, for the most part, is ever black and white, plus constant mistakes are the background and fabric of our lives. 

Then we’re ready to separate the facts from the interpretations, as facts are verifiable, interpretations are narratives and predictions just guesses, while most media love to blend all three. In the end, let’s remember that we’re not looking for “news”, we’re looking for meaning, and meaning doesn’t come from volume. 

Instead it comes from context, synthesis, reflection, conversation and frameworks. If this discussion subject interests us, it also shows that we’ve already had the instinct for this, and what we need to build and be comfortable with, is a structure that protects our attention and channels our curiosity. 

The resources are overwhelming, so pick a selection you feel comfortable handling and stick to it. Good luck!

Finding good information today (Part Four)

In this section, we’ll see how to keep a critical view. If we want a method for keeping a critical view (without becoming cynical), we should say that critical thinking isn’t skepticism but a form of structured curiosity. 

Here’s a simple method we can apply to any issue; let’s call it the “The 5-Question Filter”. When we encounter a piece of news, let’s ask ourselves 

• “Is this important or just urgent?” 
• “Is this new information or recycled garbage?” 
• “What long-term trend does this connect to?” 
• “What would change in my life if I ignored this?” 
• “What is the strongest argument against the position presented?” 

If a story fails questions 1–3, we can safely let it go and ignore it. Then, use the “two sources, two perspectives” rule, for any issue we want to understand: We begin by reading one mainstream source, then we read one outsider or contrarian source. 

We read one left-leaning analysis, followed by one right-leaning analysis. We don’t do it to “balance” but to triangulate. Finally, we learn the “slow opinion” principle in which when an issue is emotionally charged we wait 48 hours before forming an opinion, as most early takes are either wrong, incomplete, or manipulated. 

If that sounds like luxury, it is as I don’t have quite that time at my disposal! In the next blog we’ll discover a method for forming sound opinions, so we’re not done yet.

Finding good information today (Part Three)

It’s pretty clear that faced with the information mess that is besieging us, we must build a personal information architecture, so instead of asking “What’s the right media?”, we should ask “What information do I need to live well, think clearly, and act meaningfully?” 

Based on that premise, we could structure our inputs around these questions. It begins with three tiers of information working as an effective filter: 

Tier 1 — Structural information (high value, low noise) These are long-term forces that actually shape our world. They are demographics, economics, technology, climate, geopolitics and institutions. Good sources for these, I am told, are The Economist (weekly magazine), the Financial Times (weekend edition), Foreign Affairs (magazine, 6 issues a year), MIT Technology Review (bi-monthly magazine) and long-form podcasts (Ezra Klein, Sean Carroll, Conversations with Tyler). Currently, I don’t subscribe and never read any of these, except the Economist on occasions. I will have to seriously look into these. 

Tier 2 — Curated analysis (medium value, medium noise) These are designed to help us interpret events without drowning in them: They are newsletters by domain experts, Substack writers we trust (online publishing platform that allows writers, podcasters, and video creators to publish content directly to their audiences via email newsletters and a dedicated website). There are think-tank explainers (Brookings, RAND, CSIS) that should be just skimmed. 

Tier 3 — Daily news (low value, high noise) This is what I use and according to the experts where the rabbit holes live. Again a “rabbit hole” is a situation where a seemingly simple inquiry leads to a complex, time-consuming chain of related discoveries, making it difficult to stop exploring or return to your original task. A list of these daily news sites are AP News, Reuters, the BBC and NPR Morning Briefing. 

These are factual, low-drama, low-spin and AP News as well as NPR are part of my daily news diet and are likely to remain that way. In the next blog, we’ll try to focus on keeping a direct and simple critical view...

Finding good information today (Part Two)

Yesterday, we wondered about finding a structured, practical way to gather good information, not necessarily a list of “better media outlets,” but a system that helps us stay informed without drowning. The fact is that today, as we seek good information, there are three forces are working against us: 

• A. The firehose problem By far, the worst of all problems, too much information, too intensively. News is no longer a daily digest; it’s a 24/7 stream optimized for engagement, not to make us think or provide us with insight as it creates constant novelty, shallow context, emotional overload and the illusion that everything is urgent. As a result, our brain is doing triage all day without having the time necessary to digest the information it encounters. 
• B. The fragmentation problem Every issue is broken into micro‑controversies, each with its own rabbit hole. This is a perfect recipe for ending up with more information, more data scattered all over, less meaning, more uncertainty and far less confidence. 
• C. The actionability gap By “actionable”, I mean providing the necessary information, tools, or grounds to produce an immediate, practical outcome. 

With this in mind, it’s also true that most news is not actionable, nor is it relevant to our life and totally disconnected to long-term trends, resulting as we finish reading that nothing has really changed. 

To address these points, we’ll explore in our next blog how we can develop a much better way to develop a mode of gathering information that is useful to us. So please, stay tuned!

Finding good information today (Part One)

I find it increasingly difficult to find good enough information that makes me think and help me develop a sound opinion about daily issues, whether they be political or societal. There is so much going on everywhere that the sorting of what’s important, useful and better yet actionable becomes increasingly difficult to wrestle with. 

All this is what pushes me to wonder if there’s a better way to get to the essentials without having the impression of having wasted my time by getting led to rabbit holes that deepen my uncertainties without improving my understanding? I’m asking where’s the right media, where do I find it and how do I keep a critical view? 

I feel that I’m describing something many of us feel right now: the sense that information is abundant but understanding is scarce. Not because we lack curiosity or intelligence, but because the modern information environment is engineered to fragment attention, amplify noise, and reward emotional reaction over reflective judgment. 

Before we go deeper into our search for solutions, here’s just a concise takeaway: Some ways we can regain clarity is by narrowing our inputs or sources of information, structuring how you consume the news, and adopting a deliberate method for forming opinions that resists the pull of the daily news cycle. This is what we’ll start exploring in our next blog.

The importance of good parenting (Part Two)

In the previous post, I made it pretty clear that the people best equipped to raise children are the ones directly responsible for them — whether they are parents, single caregivers, foster families, or, when life demands it, grandparents. 

This responsibility cannot be outsourced to schools, nor delegated to the screens of tablets and smartphones. Raising a child is not only a privilege; it is a duty. And with that duty comes accountability. Too often, when a young person causes harm, the entire weight of the consequence falls on the child alone, as if they were raised in a vacuum. 

But children act within the framework adults create for them. Until legal majority, the parent and child form a single moral and educational unit: the parent shapes, the child acts, and both share responsibility for the outcome. 

This means that when a minor causes damage, the consequences — whether financial reparation, community service, or other sanctions — should be borne jointly. Not because parents are to blame for every misstep, but because shared consequences reinforce shared responsibility. 

They encourage parents to stay engaged and teach children that their actions affect more than just themselves. It also acts as a dissuasive factor that discourages the abdication of parental authority. Of course, real life is more complex than any principle on paper. Many parents struggle with overwhelming circumstances. But acknowledging complexity does not erase responsibility; it simply means society must support parents so they can fulfill it. 

Without a renewed culture of parental engagement, there is little reason to expect meaningful improvement. Accountability begins at home — and so does hope.

The importance of good parenting (Part One)

Recent, grave incidents in France, and indeed across the world, show a troubling disengagement of parents from their most critical role: raising children. This responsibility cannot be outsourced to schools, nor delegated to the screens of tablets and smartphones. 

Parents must recognize that they are not only legally liable for their children’s actions until adulthood, but also morally responsible for shaping their values, resilience, and empathy. Institutions — schools, churches, synagogues, mosques — may support, but they cannot replace the parental role.

What children need most is presence: attentive, consistent, and engaged parents who choose to listen rather than scroll, who model responsibility rather than distraction. Parenting is hard work, but it is also the most irreplaceable investment in the future. 

Liability is only the surface; the deeper truth is that parents hold the privilege of shaping lives in ways no other institution can, and if they relinquish that job no one else will, and it’s disheartening to me when I see that too few voices in politics and in social circles even think that way! 

Modern life is very demanding when both parents have to work in order to afford the lifestyle they want, but somehow there has to be enough room left to pay more attention to the young lives that only have their family to count on in order to follow by example and to gain priceless insights they’ll carry with them all their life. 

It’s certainly not worth leaving that job to the screens of tablets and smartphones, when adults prefer to splurge on senseless social media and TV programs. Next time, we’ll see how a well organized and sound society should deal with that concerning reality.

Experience vs. Openness (Part two)

Today, we’ll sketch a simple framework — almost like a checklist — so we can see how to decide when to trust experience versus when to challenge it. This, of course, will be affected by our personal threshold of risk. Still, it’s a quick 3‑step flow that we can run through in real time. 

Step 1 — Asks: “Is this familiar?” If the situation resembles something we’ve faced before, the experience is a strong and reliable guide. If, on the contrary, it feels new or unprecedented, we should take a good pause before applying old solutions. 

Step 2 — Ask: “Does my past fit the present?” Check whether the context has changed (technology, people, culture, timing). If it’s not the case and the environment is different, experience may bias us toward outdated answers. 

Step 3 — Ask: “What’s the cost of being wrong?” If the stakes are low, experiment that option, try something new and see where it leads us. If the stakes are high, we still need to lean more on proven experience — but still invite fresh input. 

This exercise should show us that on balance, if experience is the guardrails we need, it does keep us safe, efficient and resilient. On the other hand, openness means a growth opportunity to keep us adaptive, curious and innovative. 

The not-so-obvious conclusion (or the “art” in this exercise) is knowing when to let one lead and the other support. We could think of it like walking with two tools: experience as our compass and openness as our map. The compass keeps you oriented, but the map shows new terrain.

Experience vs. Openness (Part one)

As I keep on walking the path of life, the most important tool I can’t ignore is all the experience I’ve accumulated over the years. It’s a guide, an inspiration, a set of guardrails and an ever growing resource that protects me, makes me act efficiently and in my best interest and I would be tempted to believe that I couldn’t ever do as well without such a rich experience. 

All this matters because decades of lived situations give us a mental library. We can easily spot risks and opportunities much faster than someone without that background. In addition, this allows us not to waste energy reinventing the wheel as we already know what works and what doesn’t. It’s also a fact that past challenges remind us that setbacks are survivable, which steadies us in most present situations. 

The bottom line is that experience blends facts with context. It’s not just knowing what to do, but when and why. This doesn’t mean that experience is a perfect teacher. 

We need to pay attention as it can also draw us toward old solutions. When that seems to happen, the best move is to ask: Does my past really fit this new situation, or do I need fresh eyes? In fact, to work as it should for us, experience must act as a guardrail, as I first mentioned, but not a cage — protecting you from repeating mistakes, but leaving room for curiosity and adaptation.

This said, we couldn’t navigate life as effectively without our accumulated experience (the compass). But the real strength is not just having it — it’s knowing when to lean on it, and when to let openness (the map) complement it. Tomorrow, we’ll see how to accomplish just that.

FIS Johan Eliash on thin ice?

It’s in 1996 that I met Mr Eliash, in person, for the first and only time. The self-proclaimed billionaire had just acquired Head skis in 1995 and would serve as its active Chief Executive Officer for over 25 years, until 2021. He stepped down as CEO following his election as President of the International Ski Federation (FIS) in June 2021. He has since maintained his role as Head’s Chairman of the Board, and his family remains the company’s majority owner. 

I had flown to New York to interview for the job of President of its US subsidiary. I thought I made an excellent presentation, but Eliash preferred Dynastar’s Carl Helmetag to me, finding me too aggressive for his own style, and saving me a relocation to Maryland. The stodgy Vermont resident barely lasted 3 years on the job probably, because Head’s owner was a little tyrant. 

Today, Johan Eliasch is seeking another term as president of the FIS, but his re-election campaign has triggered a bitter divide. He is facing strong opposition from major Western ski nations over his financial management, centralized control, and unique Georgian nomination. 

Eliasch is aiming to extend his tenure as FIS president, but his campaign has been mired in political drama and pushback from within the sport. Because neither of his home countries (Sweden and Great Britain) were willing to back him, Eliasch acquired Georgian citizenship and was nominated by the Georgian Ski Association.

The most influential national ski associations—including Norway, the United States, Austria, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Canada—sent a joint letter strongly opposing his continued leadership. Because of Vion’s cushy job at FIS in Bern, the French have remained silent. Critics and opposing federations cite two main points of tension. 

First, opposing nations claim that the federation's financial reserves and stability have deteriorated significantly since Eliasch took office in 2021. Eliasch has pushed for aggressive centralization of media and marketing rights against traditional European federations’ wishes that want to keep both autonomy and revenue, leading to accusations that he runs the FIS autocratically. 

Eliasch faces a heavily contested field of four other candidates seeking the presidency. The election battle and control of the FIS governing body will be decided in five days at its upcoming Congress in Belgrade, Serbia. Once a little dictator, always turn into a big one!

Look what I found!

We find a lot of stuff each time my wife and I walk. Today, it was that feather and I wondered which bird it belonged to. At first, I thought it was large enough to come from a bird of prey, but when I asked Gemini (AI) it said that the 12 1/3” (31.5 cm) long feather was a primary flight feather from a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).

​Here are the key characteristics from the image that point to this identification: ​

Coloration: It has a uniform, dark grayish-brown to charcoal vane, which transitions into a distinctly pale, almost white translucent calamus (the quill) at the base.

 ​Shape: The asymmetrical vane (where one side is much narrower than the other) is classic for a primary wing feather, designed to provide lift and aerodynamics during flight. ​

Texture and Size: The sturdy, rigid structure of the rachis (center shaft) and the dense, interlocking barbs are typical of large, powerful waterfowl. ​

AI also reminded me that a lost feather like that one found in the United States, fell (no pun intended) under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). As a result, it’s technically illegal to keep, possess, or collect feathers from protected migratory birds (which includes Canada Geese, eagles, hawks, and songbirds), even if it’s just found dropped on the ground. So now you’re warned !

Jesus and a hot planet

I used to communicate with Jesus through Skype, but since this service is closed, we’ve both switched to WhatsApp. A week ago, as Europe was under an unseasonable heat wave, we talked about global warming. The conversation went like this: 

Go 11: Hi, Jesus! How are things upstairs? 

Jesus: Not bad, we’re trying to cool France and England at the moment… 

Go 11: As I tell my countrymen, that early heatwave is good training for the time they get to Hell 

Jesus: You might be kidding, but we have the same cooling problem in Heaven. The facilities are very old. Poor insulation, leaks everywhere with the heat that seeps from downstairs. It’s becoming a problem there too… 

Go 11: What are your plans for earth warming in the future? 

Jesus: We’ll probably relocate part of the population to another planet. I mean the Evangelists. I was thinking of sucking them up with a big hose over another spot… 

Go 11: You meant like the rapture? 

Jesus: That’s exactly the idea… 

Go 11: What do you do with the rest? 

Jesus: You mean the other seven and a half billion? 

Go 11: Yeah, if you say so… 

Jesus: We’ll let them roast and use them for fertilizing planet Earth 2.0 

Go 11: And you’ll let the creation start again? 

Jesus: Not quite like the first time, we’d do it the Charles Darwin way, it’s more credible 

Go 11: What about the Evangelists, then? 

Jesus: We’ll suck them over to Mars and let them fight out with Elon Musk, that might bring some good entertainment value!

Michel Rudigoz, 1944-2026

The legendary ski coach and restaurateur Michel Rudigoz passed away Friday, May 29, from Alzheimer disease, at his home north of Ketchum, Idaho. He was 81. Born on July 29, 1944 in France, became one of the most successful US Olympic Alpine ski coaches in history, leading both the men’s and women’s national teams in the late 1970s and 1980s. 

In 1982, he led the American women’s team to the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Nations Cup, a season-long competition in which points are tallied by individual nations. At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, he guided racers Debbie Armstrong and Christin Cooper to gold and silver medals, respectively, in giant slalom and slalom. 

He began his ski coaching career in Tignes. He also preceded me at Mt. Buller where he taught skiing in 1967 and 1968. In 1972, Sun Valley ski coach Lane Monroe met Rudigoz in the Alps and asked him to come to the US to coach. Rudigoz landed in Sun Valley, and eventually took on the role of coach of the US men’s Alpine team in 1978, leading accomplished racers such Phil Mahre, Steve Mahre and Andy Mill. 

He then assumed leadership of the women’s team, becoming known as a master motivator who praised his skiers’ talents but pushed them to always ski faster. In the mid-1980s, Rudigoz bought “La Provence” from our longtime friends, the Dussers in Ketchum, before opening “Chez Michel” down the road, and got involved as a coach for the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. 

In 2011, Rudigoz was inducted into the Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame, one of a variety of awards and accolades he would receive.

A great communication tool (Part Two)

Here’s a handy toolkit of clarifying questions we can use when conversations start to heat up.

They’re short, neutral, and designed to slow things down, invite reflection, and keep the dialogue both civil and constructive: 

• “What do you mean by that?” This signals curiosity, not confrontation. Helps the other person unpack their words. 
• “Can you tell me more about how you see it?” Opens space for explanation, shows we’re listening. 
• “Why is this important to you?” It moves the focus from the argument to underlying values or concerns. 
• “I’m not sure I understand — could you explain differently?” This one buys time, lowers tension, and invites rephrasing. 
• “What outcome would feel fair to you?” This response shifts from conflict to problem solving. 
• “How does this situation affect you personally?” One to humanizes the issue, making it less abstract and more empathetic. 

Again, tone matters a lot: Ask calmly, not sarcastically. Timing matters: Use this questioning technique right when we feel the conversation tipping toward escalation. Follow‑up matters: After asking, listen actively and never, never rush to counter. 

Think of these tips as conversational “pressure valves.” They don’t end disagreements, but they keep them from exploding. To conclude, here’s a simple step‑by‑step “flow” we can use in real time when a conversation starts to get tense. Think of it as a de‑escalation sequence we can run through: 

1. Pause and breathe. Before responding, take a beat. Even a 2‑second pause can reset the tone. 
2. Clarify gently. Use a neutral question: “What do you mean by that?” This slows the pace and signals curiosity instead of confrontation. 
3. Explore feelings Invite them to share: “Why does this feel important to you?” This shifts the focus from the argument to underlying values. 
4. Reflect back Paraphrase what you heard: “So you’re saying you feel overlooked?” Reflection shows you’re listening, even if you disagree. 
5. Redirect to solutions Ask: “What outcome would feel fair to you?” This moves the conversation from conflict to problem solving. 
6. Close with respect End with a calm statement: “I appreciate you explaining that — let’s see how we can work on it.” 

This shows us a fabulous alternative to Trump’s insulting technique as it reinforces dignity while always keeping the door open. Now you’ve got all the tools from the toolbox that are needed to try this method. Good luck!

A great communication tool (Part One)

Here’s a great strategy to stop most disagreements by asking simple questions like: “What do you mean?”, “Why do you feel that way?”, “I don’t quite understand?”, etc. When there is tension and whether it is perceived or real, very little can take a conversation south and take it into a very intense and combative exchange. Some questions are meant to “push someone’s button” or provoke, either accidentally or through some existing stress or a deliberate mean streak.

It seems to me that responding by asking a question that seek to clarify or perhaps buy some time is a good strategy. Indeed, those clarifying questions can be a surprisingly powerful tool in tense conversations and here is why they work. First, they slow the pace when emotions run high, as people often speak faster and more forcefully. 

A simple “What do you mean?” forces a pause, giving both sides a moment to breathe. They also shift the focus, so instead of counter‑attacking or defending, we’re inviting the other person to explain themselves. That moves the dynamic from confrontation to exploration. In addition, they can help validate without agreeing. Indeed when we ask “Why do you feel that way?” we show that we’re listening, even if we don’t share the view. That recognition alone helps defuse any hostility. 

As suggested above, these questions also buy us time. For instance, “I don’t quite understand” is a gentle way of saying: I need a moment before I respond. It prevents knee‑jerk reactions that often escalate a conflict. Finally, they expose intent if people are deliberately trying to provoke as the clarifying question reveals that we detected the provocative intent and diffused it skillfully. 

In communication theory, this approach is called active listening / defensive questioning. It’s a way of turning potential arguments into dialogue. One of the keys is tone: the same words can sound curious or sarcastic depending on their delivery. While this smart strategy doesn’t guarantee agreement, it can often prevents conversations from degenerating and keeps them in a space where mutual respect remains possible. 

In the next blog we review a toolkit of questions for specific situations, so please stay tuned...

What’s this cloud?

On two occasions, I’ve observed these particular clouds, first when we drove to California late April, and this morning as we were out on our morning walk. 

At first, I thought it was a cirrus cloud, but cirrus clouds are detached clouds in the form of white, delicate filaments, mostly in patches or narrow bands. They may have a fibrous, hair-like, and sometimes silky sheen appearance. 

Since I don’t know much about clouds, I had to do some research and found out that based on the distinct smooth, lens-like, and somewhat aerodynamic shape of that cloud, it was a lenticular cloud (technically classified as Altocumulus lenticularis). These clouds are famous for looking like flying saucers, pancakes, or lenses. 

The one I photographed has incredibly clean, smooth edges, which happens when the air is moving in a stable, consistent flow (that day was quite windy). The lenticular clouds typically form when moist air is forced upward over a mountain range or large hill. As the air drops back down, a standing wave is created on the downwind side of the mountain (similar to water rippling over a pebble in a stream). 

If the temperature at the crest of the wave drops to the dew point, the moisture condenses into this beautiful, stationary cloud. Even though the cloud looks like it's just sitting there perfectly still, air is actually constantly flowing through it, in fact, condensing into a cloud as it hits the peak of the wave and evaporating as it moves down the other side. 

​These clouds are a favorite for photographers, but pilots generally give them a wide berth because they indicate strong, bumpy turbulence hiding in the upper atmosphere.

A special graduation

This past Friday, our grandson Finn graduated from high school and for us it was the third time we attended such an event following our two children’s in the late 80s and early 90s. For people coming from Europe, like us, the event was unique because it combines medieval academic rituals with modern cultural celebration, turning a school milestone into a major public rite of passage. 

Unlike what doesn’t happen in most countries, a high school graduation is treated as a large-scale community event with distinctive symbols, music, and personal expression. It’s often held in large venues (stadiums, auditoriums) with hundreds or even thousands of attendees and treated like a once-in-a-lifetime public ceremony, not just an administrative step. 

Students wear caps and gowns (mortarboards and robes), a tradition borrowed from medieval European universities but rarely used for secondary school in other countries. The tassel turning (right to left) and cap tossing are iconic rituals symbolizing the transition from student to graduate. The processional is often accompanied by “Pomp and Circumstance”, a piece that became a uniquely American graduation anthem after Yale adopted it in 1905. 

At that point, diplomas are handed out individually on stage, with each student’s name announced — emphasizing personal recognition. Finally there are the speeches delivered by valedictorians, salutatorians, principals, and guest speakers. These addresses are generally inspirational, often touching on broader social issues (justice, climate, identity). This transforms the graduation into a platform for civic dialogue, not just a school event. 

After the ceremony, families often host graduation parties, or like we did enjoy a good meal at the graduate’s favorite restaurant. sometimes with cultural themes, food, and music. By contrast, in much of Europe, finishing secondary school is acknowledged with exam results or certificates, but no formal ceremony. 

The North American model elevates graduation into a cultural milestone, blending academic tradition, civic ritual, and personal celebration in a way that is rare elsewhere.

Arrogance and bad judgement

My town of Park City is slightly under 9,000 people strong, so we have one elected mayor and five city council members. 

Last week, this fine group of people decided to vote themselves a big raise in salary, a move quite legal as under Utah law and Park City’s municipal code, the mayor and city council are legally authorized to vote on their own compensation, provided the process follows open‑meeting and budget‑approval requirements, which it did.

That vote to more than double the salaries of Park City’s elected officials has been deeply troubling to me. Mayor Ryan Dickey’s annual compensation will jumped from $55,209 to $116,666, while councilors’ pays rose from $28,520 to $58,333. 

These figures place Park City far above peer ski towns and even larger cities like Phoenix and Dallas, where mayors earn less despite far greater responsibilities. What makes this decision worse is the timing. Only months into their terms, the majority chose to enrich themselves rather than wait until the next election cycle. 

This erodes public trust and creates the appearance of self‑dealing. Only one councilor, Bill Ciraco (left on the photo), dissented, reminding us that public service is meant to be service, not a full‑time career with executive‑level pay. Arrogance might be tolerated. Bad judgment might be forgiven. 

But arrogance combined with bad judgment is a dangerous mix. Parkites should remember this vote when the next election arrives. Accountability is the only antidote.

Trump’s mental decline

After watching the aftermath of the US-Israeli war against Iran, it has become quite clear to me that Trump bit more than he could chew by attacking the Iranian and had absolutely no clue what his move would entail. 

Now, he found himself stuck with having discovered that the Iranian rulers could mess up the global oil and gas supply, considering they had won the conflict and remained much more resilient than his white-supremacist view had led him to believe.

Further, he’s also caught with what to do with a large supply of enriched uranium that he said has “buried” during his first bombing, but no one is certain about its exact current location. Finally he’s been zigzagging so much about the state of negotiation with Iran. that he’s now lost any credibility he never had to start with. 

 

To me, this erratic reasoning is a clear indication of Trump’s mental decline and it now makes him a dangerous individual on account of the US nuclear arsenal that is left at his fingertips.

A resurrected 2cv?

After reminiscing about my 2cv years, a former schoolmate and a friend teased me with the news that an EV version of my beloved car from yesteryear might be coming back, at least in Europe! I checked, and the rumor seemed true as Citroën’s CEO Thierry Koskas had recently hinted at the return of the minimalist car, citing the model's global recognition as a marketing advantage not to be missed. 

This move that stands as a reversal in Citroën's position appears to have been prompted by the remarkable success of the retro-inspired Renault 5 electric hatchback. The R5 has become an immediate hit in France, with nearly 10,000 units sold in its first full month on sale, showing strong market demand for affordable electric vehicles with nostalgic appeal.

According to automotive sources, the electric 2cv is expected to more closely mirror its classic counterpart's distinctive design by borrowing several design cues from the original 2cv, including its distinctive headlights and vent-like indentations across the wings. 

While the original 2cv was designed as the minimum viable product required to bring mobility to rural post-war France, this ethos of simplicity and affordability will be central to the new model's development, particularly relevant as rising EV prices have pushed electric mobility beyond the reach of many buyers. 

To achieve competitive pricing, the new 2cv would likely use Stellantis's cost-cutting Smart Car platform, which currently underpins the ë-C3, Fiat Grande Panda, and Vauxhall Frontera. Its electric power-train is expected to prioritize efficiency over performance, enabling the use of a smaller, more affordable battery pack. 

While no official launch date has been announced, industry analysts think a typical four-year development cycle would put the electric 2cv on track for a 2028 debut -coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the original car's unveiling at the Paris motor show. We’ll see...

Bringing AI to the rescue

Recently, my solar panel system stopped producing. The cause was its inverter that turns AC into DC current which broke down. I contacted the installer, someone was sent at my house to find the inverter faulty but still under warranty and requested a return authorization. Ten days later they came to install a replacement one and everything was back to normal. 

It’s only another week later that I received and invoice for $670. At first they sent me just the amount, then as I requested an itemized bill, I realized that I was charged for elements that should have been free under warranty, so after reading again the contract I had signed 6 years ago, I realized that under warranty, the charges were questionable. 

That’s when I sent a clear explanation of the situation along with a PDF copy of my contract to AI and in 2 or 3 seconds received a complete analysis and a detailed course of action, including a letter to the installer spelling that I was requesting the annulment of the invoice. 

It took a few more back and forth with that AI and then another one, mostly to make sure I was on solid ground, until the installer agreed to cancel the bill. 

Had I asked an attorney to do that work, I would have received less quality help and been charged $2,000. Thank you AI!

Accidental death of a potgut

For those not familiar with the Rocky Mountains region, what's called a “potgut” is a rodent with a popular name derived from their apparent fat looking belly. a so-called ground squiirel. In fact, they are known in scientific circles as Uinta ground squirrels, are primarily herbivorous, and mostly eat grass, seeds, and leaves.

They disappear from view in August and return in April or May. In between, they are supposed to hibernate. Not a bad life! Their only problem is that they’re close to the ground and even though they can stand up on their hind-legs to see a bit farther, crossing a road can be a dangerous endeavor. Many get ran over that way. 

So yesterday, as we were walking, we saw one laying flattened in the gutter. A sad story that made me think “Do potguts go to Heaven?” So, I imagined our flat little fellow, showing up at the Pearly Gates and welcomed by Saint Peter. 

• St. Peter: Hi, who are you? 
• Potgut: I’m what they call a Potgut in Utah 
• St. Peter: Never heard of that… 
• Potgout: Do you speak Latin? 
• St. Peter: Yeah, I used to live in Rome… 
• Potgut: I’m a Urocitellus armatus 
• St. Peter: What happened to you? 
• Potgut: I got ran over by a Tesla driven well over the speed limit! 
• St. Peter: I see, that’s too bad, next time pay attention! Wait a second and let me see what I can do for you… I could put you upstairs, it’s the comfy version of Eternity… Here you go, there’s a tiny vacant corner available for you. 
• Potgut: I need a lot of sleep, is there a good bed there? 
• St. Peter: Well the company that dwells upstairs is pretty boring. not fun at all, so sleeping is a great option! 
• Potgut: Can I do it eternally? 
• St. Peter: Just tell the chambermaid when you get there and she’ll set you up! Let me get you your key...

From septuagenarian to octogenarian (Par Two)

While I agree with most of the general points discussed in my previous blog, my outlook to the transition from septuagenarian to octogenarian years is different in the way it adds to these steps. First, I remain acutely aware that the time left for me is disappearing quickly and becomes increasingly precious. Therefore I cannot waste it unproductively. 

This doesn’t mean that I plan to return to work, but each of my actions, even the ones seemingly unproductive, like meditating, sleeping well, or deep thinking are extremely valuable to me. This forces me to get many things done and by treating the use of my time as so precious, it turns into a skilled game from which I get mentally rewarded from it like all players do. 

Then, there is my view of the inexorable physical decline that is beyond my control and just a function of aging. While I don’t like this evolution I’m learning to accept it and transmute it into something positive. 

As a result, I recently decided to turn it on its head and aim for placing the rest of my life on a trajectory in “crescendo” until everything stops, so I’m not disappearing vanquished, but up into a rewarding kind of glory. Why? Because I see that remaining time like a chance to repair all that’s wrong or not so nice in myself. 

From turning fear into love, to learning skills that I still could use, from being a much better person to the people I come in contact with, either daily or occasionally. I keep busy filling the “negative holes” in my life with positive traits and still trying to get better at so many things that are leaving room for improvement. 

Expending this effort is not really hard, because I’ve long seen any obstacle as a hurdle challenging me to overcome it, and in the process, get better and learn something from these efforts that are a continuation of my competitive make-up. All this keeps me enormously busy and constantly behind the eight ball in a stimulating way. 

In conclusion, this outlook—gained over the years through mindfulness and disciplined meditation—keeps me going, making me wish that I will die one day filled with happiness and as healthy as possible for my age, physically, mentally and cognitively. So now, you’ve got the full program!

From septuagenarian to octogenarian (Part One)

In a few days my hometown friends that are my age will get together to share a big lunch at a restaurant located on the East shore of the lake of Montriond to reflect on their fleeting seventies (all of them were born in 1947 – a great year for wine – but many have already turned seventy-nine. That means one last year before turning eighty. 

Wow! While most of us never believed this would happen, that transition from septuagenarian to octogenarian is a profound milestone. It marks an official entry into late-stage adulthood where physiological shifts intersect with noticeable social change and deep emotional resilience, offering a unique blend of wisdom, slower pacing, and personal liberation if we only focus on the good sides of that life stage. 

Of course, it’s hard to accept and see the gradual decline experienced by our bodies in muscle mass and bone density, bringing a heightened emphasis on fall prevention, mobility support, and nutrition. Not just that, but our metabolism slows down, making the conservation of energy and regular, low-impact exercise more important than ever.

True, multiple studies show octogenarians reporting less worry, lower stress, and greater emotional stability than everyone younger than us. Years of fun, sometimes suffering and accumulated life experience create a natural aptitude for emotional regulation, mental stability and a more realistic view of how we see our changed situations. 

Gradually, many of us begin to develop a sharper appreciation for simple, everyday joys, prioritizing peace, appreciation over performance and perfection. Still, our available time is shrinking daily in ways that are so visible that it can be scary at times, as well as a similar shrinkage in our social circles because of natural loss or declining health limitations. 

Now, our connections become highly intentional. Octogenarians often favor deep, meaningful conversations over seeing a quantity of people. It’s also true that both retirement and reduced societal expectations provide the ultimate permission to pursue personal passions, self-discovery, hobbies, and community engagement at one's own pace and this to us also mean a healthy switch to quality over quantity. 

Tomorrow, I’ll try to explain how I prepare for that transition a bit differently...

Flying the American flag upside down

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito made himself infamous by flying the US flag upside down at his property in association with Trump’s "Stop the Steal" movement. Today, one of my neighbors did the same to protest the illegal action of our demented president, so this begs the question about the origin and meaning of such an action. 

Flying the American flag upside down has two primary meanings: it used to be officially a distress signal for extreme danger to life or property, but has now evolved into becoming a popular symbol of political protest. Indeed, under the US Flag Code, flying the flag upside down is a recognized signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property. 

Historically, this originated as a maritime distress signal, functioning similarly to an "SOS." However today, it has mostly morphed into a symbol of political protest. In recent years, the inverted flag has been widely adopted by individuals across the political spectrum to signal that they believe the country is in crisis, or to protest the actions or direction of the government. 

Because the intended meaning depends entirely on my neighbor's context, the safest way to determine why he flies his flag upside-down is to simply ask him, which I have yet to do. I guess I’m not concerned about his immediate safety, so I won’t be checking in to make sure he’s not experiencing an emergency. 

From what I know of him, he must simply be extremely mad at Trump and exhausted by his behavior. As for me, you might wonder how I fly my US flag? Simple, I don’t have one, I’m considering myself a citizen of the world. That’s all!

Four years worth of EV

Hard to believe, but I’ve been driving an electric car for more than four years! Time fly it’s true but when things go well it goes even faster, at least that's what my wife thinks as she still can’t believe we’ve had that car for so long. 

Consumption? Tires, probably, windshield wipers and cleaner and that’s it. Nothing aside from these. A touch screen replacing a multitude of buttons spread all over a cockpit takes some time to get used to, but once learned it’s no longer a problem!

The automobile starts on command regardless of how cold it’s outside, when I don’t forget to preheat it in my cold garage it feels warm and ready to take me anywhere I want to go. Its safety and self-driving features are both wonderful and addictive. 

After recently driving an ICE car for 1,300 miles, I would never switch back to a fossil fuel powered car or even a hybrid. There are also more and more chargers around, so refill anxiety is no longer a problem and the only negative about owning the car I own and love is that I still hate Elon Musk...

The evolving Avoriaz’s image (Part Two)

The reindeer as Avoriaz mascots were short lived when it was realized that they couldn’t find good sustenance and climate in Avoriaz, in fact a few ran away and had to be wrestled back from nearby Switerland. At the same time, as the resort grew in popularity, a switch has to be made to horse-drawn sleigh from the valley with their owner-conductors. 

That explain why the reindeer logo was dropped, even though the visual could have been switch to stylized silhouettes of skiers, snowboarders, mountain climbers, mountain bike riders, etc, as they exist Olympic-style. 

In addition, the local ski school caved in from the French ski instructor syndicate to adopt their national uniform, the town of Morzine forced also the issue of merging its name with Avoriaz creating a new logo and jettisoned all the previous Avoriaz specific branding. 

The “Festival du Film Fantastique” (Sci-Fi film festival) was also a flimsy attempt to attract the French celebrities to the resort and lost it reason of being as the lodging grew but not in terms of quality and amenities that well-to-do skiers were looking for. 

In the process, Avoriaz became the perfect product tour operators were looking for, sacrificing the more ritzy type of clientele targeted initially, thus accelerating the stagnation of its lodging quality that was quickly no longer in line with a more affluent clientele’s expectation. 

It’s also that Avoriaz found itself diluted with the giant interconnect “Portes de Soleil” that also blurred its unique image. The “British invasion” spurred by Easy Jet creating a hub in Geneva over the ashes of Swissair didn’t help either, bringing herds of loud and young kids to the mountain. 

With more care and a more robust strategy, Avoriaz could have remained a ski resort like Courchevel or St. Moritz in Switzerland, but the appeal of a quick, easy buck is probably what persuaded developer Gérard Brémond to change course and go with mass tourism (including Club Med) and alter his initial plans, so the rest is now history...

The evolving Avoriaz’s image (Part One)

From its inception in 1963, the French ski resort of Avoriaz had a very strong and very distinct branding that really placed it ahead of its times from a marketing standpoint. This was later abandoned by plain laziness, lack of good thinking and proper decision-making, but this is just my opinion. 

What remains true is that Avoriaz’s original branding was anchored in its avant-garde architecture, being entirely car-free, and promoting a skier’s hideaway or aerie (repère de skieurs) with its location over a cliff promontory and the exotic, albeit gratuitous reindeer-drawn sleigh as part of its logo. 

It’s widely believed that the first logo, depicting the stylized reindeer was designed in the mid-1960s under the direction of Gérard Brémond, Avoriaz developer. Unlike traditional resorts that outsourced their communication to external agencies, 

Avoriaz's initial graphic identity was created directly within the Avoriaz Architecture Studio (led by Jacques Labro, Jean-Jacques Orzoni, and Jean-Marc Roques). The choice of the reindeer, was a bit of a fluke and it stemmed directly from the concept of a 100% pedestrian-friendly resort. In 1966, to ensure transfers on the car-free slopes, Gérard Brémond brought real reindeer from Lapland to pull the few sleds available and that’s the reason why the animal thus became the resort's immediate graphic symbol. 

The original design played on visual ambiguity as the clean, geometric lines of the animal's antlers were drawn asymmetrically to directly echo the broken lines and silhouette of the resort's first buildings (Hôtel des Dromonts). A few years later, for advertising posters and graphic variations, they used graphic artists to refine and solidify this unique and avant-garde visual identity. 

The branding treatment was mirroring Avoriaz modernity like no other ski resort. The personnel even wore black and orange uniforms! One key Avoriaz employee, the late François Fallin, became a critical artist who tirelessly hand-painted most of the ski resort signage in white lettering bordered by a yellow and orange stripe with rounded corners keeping branding consistent and unique for many years…

Tomorrow, we’ll see why Avoriaz branding has devolved and what should have done instead...

Watching the Eurovision Song Contest

The last Eurovision contest I might have seen happened sometime between 1967 and 1975, but it’s not quite clear to me. Since my parents only got a TV in 1967, it had to be at that time that I began to watch the show. 

Before that I knew that the Italian singer Gigliola Cinquetti had won the 1964 Contest for Italy with her song "Non ho l'età". She was followed by France Gall in 1965 with "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" but after that my memory gets blurry and I might have watched the 1967, 1968 and maybe some other Contests before I moved to America in 1977, but I can’t really remember. 

Did I even see ABBA’s Waterloo in 1974, I’m not quite sure. I simply thought I enjoyed watching the few shows I had a chance to see when I was young and into pop culture, but since then the Eurovision Song Contest moved out of my musical environment. 

It was until last weekend when I watched a good portion of the 70th Contest in Vienna that I could appreciate what the 2026 version was bringing to the public through YouTube for the first time. I wasn’t thrilled with all the “engineered” and overproduced songs that failed to make me want to watch next year’s program. 

I would say that Bulgarian singer Dara who won this year’s contest with her party anthem "Bangaranga", had the least bad performance of the show, but that doesn’t say much. She beat out Israel's Noam Bettan, which I thought was really bad and Australia's Delta Goodrem, who placed second and third, respectively. 

Like many, I wondered why Australia was even part of Eurovision, but it’s allegedly because the down-under country loves that show and of the longstanding broadcast efforts of the Australian network SBS, which has aired the event since 1983. Now, you know everything about me and the Eurovision song competition! 

Break in solar electricity production

Unbeknownst to us, our solar inverter broke down on March 16. The inverter is a critical component that converts direct current (DC) electricity produced by solar panels into alternating current (AC), which is used by our home and sends the excess to the utility grid. It functions as the "brain" of the system, enabling, managing, and monitoring electricity usage. 

I should have known it if I had looked at my app telling me about the functionality of our solar electricity production, but I was simply assuming that all was well. It’s just in April that I checked it and realized that nothing was going on, then, a few days later I got the monthly bill from the power company telling me that I was owing three times the amount I normally paid when my solar system worked. 

I called the company that installed the system and ten days later they came to replace the faulty inverter and restore the natural cycle fed by our indefatigable sun. For those of you considering installing solar panels, be aware that there are two ways to convert current, one with a central inverter like ours or one smaller inverter per panel (a much better idea because it’s preferable to have one panel done instead of the entire system!) 

Now we’re back in full production and thanking the sun, our solar device and the human brains that have thought about that power conversion and made it such a practical and useful invention!

My veggie garden

Our vegetable garden is 250 square feet small, but still represents some real work to set it up and aerate early season, fence and feed it as well as irrigate it regularly during our long and sometimes hot summers. So are all these efforts really worth it? 

For the moment, I’d say yes, but I’m not sure that’s quite true given all the hard work and expenses involved. So what am I hoping to get with continuing this gardening habit of ours that started some 20 years ago? 

For one thing, crop diversity isn’t a priority, as we focus on lettuce, strawberries and herbs given the small area we’re dealing with and the mountain’s rather brief growing season. 

Still what we get is fantastically fresh and tasting good, plus we know what made it grow and we enjoy caring for our tiny crops and harvesting them. 

I’ve also learned patience through tending a veggie garden as there aren’t many shortcuts available but letting time, sunshine and enough water work their way as we would expect them to. So, even if our lettuce, parsley, rosemary and strawberry are far from cheap, we value them for being ours and very tasty, so that’s why I decided yesterday that, God willing, I’ll continue tending our veggie garden until I turn 80…

The extra effort

It is amazing how sometimes, when we’re seemingly tired and are done for the day, a little extra effort can accomplish and for certainty, will add up in what we accomplished. I was reminded of it a few days ago as I was aerating our veggie garden, a yearly chore that I loathe. 

If I were putting my mind to it, I could still find mental and physical resources that would add up to a lot and make a huge difference in the job produced. I disregarded my internal calls for indulging into self-satisfaction and self-praise and leaving the job at a level substantially and quantitatively lower, but somehow mustered the resources to produce that magical extra effort. 

Was it the remnant of a habit I had observed in my family when I was a kid or that I have instinctively maintained throughout my adult life? Quite possibly, but it was still there to give me a head-start the next day when I would return to that job. I was just amazed about it and perhaps that amazement was amply justified. It made me realize that this “extra effort” is rarely about strength. 

It’s about intention. It’s about that quiet decision to lean in rather than step back, even when no one is watching and no one will praise us for it. And perhaps that is why it feels so strangely satisfying: because it reconnects us with a part of ourselves that refuses to settle for the minimum. Is it also a form of guilt? Quite possibly. A part of us that still believes in doing things well, not for recognition, but because it shapes who we are and want to stay. 

As I grow older, I’m increasingly aware that these small choices accumulate. They become a kind of personal signature — the way we show up in the world, even in the most mundane tasks. Maybe that’s why the moment struck me as it reminded me that I’m still capable of that little surge of purpose, that quiet insistence on doing things properly. 

And that, in itself, felt like a gift. In the end, the extra effort wasn’t about the veggie garden at all. It was about remembering that there is always a little more inside us than we think — a reserve we only discover when we choose to reach for it.