Wit & Wisdom with Tom Greene

Grief is almost uniquely human. Few animals grief like we do. No other emotion brings out the best and the worst in people. But grief leaves a fingerprint. An identity long after the person we love is gone. And the only way to move forward is to remind yourself that grief is living proof that we've loved and lost. It's a gift unlike any other and one we do not deserve. 

Sometimes the worst moment of your life is the turning point of your life. Because, let's face it, you are not the best judge of what your life will become. 

Something odd is happening. A divergence between the sexes. It's happening around the world. Men and women are growing further and further apart from one another. And, it's impacting dating, sex, marriage and the number of children being born. So when did this happen and, more importantly, why?  You'll have to listen to find out. 

We all wonder how our days will come to an end. What will we be on our minds as the days grow very short. Ben Sasse knows.  He's dying of pancreatic cancer and is already living on borrowed time. But in his last days on earth he's taking the time to teach us how to live and die with dignity and grace. 

We all live like we are being watched. Like there's some kind of great digital scoreboard in the sky watching our every move. But, as we age hopefully we realize that nobody is paying any attention to us because they are too busy paying attention to themselves. 

If you listen to enough of the talking heads on television, you might convince yourself that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Well, let me be the first to throw cold water on that. Because right now just might be the most remarkable time to be alive. But, it's also the most insane. 

We spend most of our lives feeling guilty about enjoying life. We try not to enjoy anything too much: food, sun, sex, etc.?  Maybe the best example of how to enjoy life comes from our dogs?  What if we all sought to live, love, eat and forgive like a dog. The world would be a much better place, right? 

Young men are seemingly failing to launch. Spending time gambling on line, watching porn and failing to get out from underneath their parent's protection. Is this a lack of motivation?  Is it a laziness?  I don't think so. I think it's something totally different but you'll have to listen to find out. 

Wisdom used to be something we expected to grow in to, something we earned through years of trails and errors--years of confusion and uncertainty. We still respect wisdom today, but have we grown too impatient to pursue it ourselves? 

As we get on in age, we often tend to spend time thinking about legacy. About what things we leave behind for others. But that's not the right way to think about legacy. We shouldn't be thinking about the stuff that matters to us. We should be thinking about the traits we pass on. The ones that tend to live on long after we are pushing up daises. 

Today's conversation started with a simple observation during an ordinary drive. It made me think about how we handle mistakes, detours and the quiet adjustments we are forced to make in life. Those adjustments that often and color and richness to our lives. 

The older I get the more I realize that wisdom and growth isn't always about adding. It's about subtracting; letting go. Because the life you envisioned isn't always the life you actually want. 

If you're reading this summary then you likely survived dry January. The time when 1/3 of Americans give up booze for 30 days. Or at least try. It's a nice idea and your liver needs it. Alcohol consumption is down in the US already, way down. But what are the unforeseen consequences of all this sobriety. You'll have to listen to find out. 

The loudest voices, the angriest voices, seem to have taken over the stage. We are naturally empathetic people but only to a point. We used to be able to have a conversation and disagree without being disagreeable. We could have empathy and still disagree. Today empathy is hijacked by movements and you either agree on you're wrong and immoral. How did we get here? 

Parents today have pulled out all the stops for this kids. During a period of unprecedented prosperity today's kids have enjoyed the finest schools, clothes, neighborhoods, cars, etc. All in an effort to give kids the good life. But what if all we were doing was setting the kids up for disappointment later in life when the real world started for them?

We are told constantly that the world is cruel, people are selfish and civility is a relic of a bygone era. Maybe I'm old school but I think that's BS. There are tons of signs that civility is alive and kicking. You'll have to listen to learn why.