Ten minutes of British phrases with a five year-old. 

Welcome back to Jonah Asks. This episode is about how we live. Using the Dalai Lama's "Instructions for Life," I consider each of these ideas and discuss self-reflection, psychology and how we attempt to build gratitude and awareness. To read the instructions themselves,https://thriveglobal.com/stories/instructions-for-life/ Thanks for listening. Be well. 

A quick recap of last night's party for my ESL class to commemorate the end of the school year, then an audio version of an essay I published on Medium. This essay is a tribute to Boston Celtics' guard Derrick White. If you enjoy basketball, the Boston Celtics, or underdogs, this is for you. Here's a link to the written essay:https://darkoindex.medium.com/derrick-whites-journey-to-becoming-an-essential-boston-celtic-8c2cf388caf4

Welcome Back to Jonah Asks!In this episode, we meet Emily. A visual artist, a lover of the natural world, a citizen of Portland, Oregon, and a compassionate human.music: "Colors" by Black Pumas"Karma Chameleon" by Boy Georgemovie clip: Steve Buscemi from "Fargo" Coen BrothersEmily's websitehttps://www.emilykepulis.com/OpeningGreetings, pandemic time, dogs0:16Art in the Family. Emily's mom and grandma have always made art. 0:21The Blank Page/Canvas.Emily discusses the process of confronting the blank canvas. 0:25Water Briefed, a series of printshttps://www.emilykepulis.com/water-briefed0:27Mortality and the Natural World0:37On Time: Sixteen Minutes Means Nothing0:39Restaurant Work0:45Working from Home vs Working at a Studio0:50To Minnesota! Emily's father's family arrived in the upper Midwest after migrations from Latvia and Germany and then England.  Her mother's family are from Austria and Bohemia.1:00To Parent or Not to Parent1:10Sustaining CreativityJonah discusses his mom and poetry. 1:14Anne Carson's poem - "A Salmon Answers When We Ask"A salmon answers when we ask. Some conversations are not about what they’re about. The word conversation means “turn together.” Turn a salmon turn home turn Prometheus a hopeful god. Turn organize his life! Do not turn betrayal not kiss. Night bones. Day sleeper. Girl. Not stark naked not stark itself. What do you want to be in your next life. A salmon. Why. A rescue. How. A play. Whose. A reading. When. A Friday. No. Is that why they call it the Rec room.-after Anne CarsonRichard Powers "The Overstory"1:20Noticing, Observing and Slowing Down

music:"Man Who Sold the World" Nirvana, Unplugged in New York (Bowie cover)"Given to Fly" Pearl Jam, Yield"Hunger Strike" Temple of the DogOpeningPatrick and I attended the same schools, from elementary through high school. Our paths diverged and we knew of each other more than we knew each other after a while. This talk was intriguing for that reason. Patrick was a unique personality within our school, a musician and theater kid, but I didn't really know him. In this conversation, we catch up on the last 25 years. Q. What does it mean to be a "humanist"?Humanism as a way of adding dimension to atheism. Growing up in the Episcopal church, Patrick's father was a key member of the choir and Patrick recalls a moment when he was twelve when he looked out at the parishioners and questioned the integrity of the ritual.Q. Did anyone actually believe in the message they were singing? 0:07After High School - Working Patrick briefly attended community college and worked his way through jobs, gaining experience. Applying for jobs without a college degree. "It takes someone to stop and actually read a resume to appreciate what your work experience means." Searching for Independence as a teenSchools: Tracking and Inequality and Arlington0:12Moving to DC and then back to Boston - Jamaica Plain0:18Family: Dogs and CatsPatrick has two cats. He also has a 12 year-old child. Patrick gained experience with infants and toddlers working as a "Mother's Assistant." He loved the Babysitter's Club books.0:238th Grade: Kurt Cobain's SuicideWe recall the time of Kurt Cobain's death (we were in 8th grade) and Patrick discusses Cobain's influence. 0:32The Sound of Freedom Nirvana, Pearl Jam, punk showsPatrick started attending punk shows at The Rat in Boston at 15. 0:37Social Anxiety: How to Not Look Not CoolThe exhaustion of people trying so hard. Patrick supports his child dealing with school drama."There are people that are waiting for that 1% of genuine emotion to come out of you because that's 1 more percent to make fun of." 0:40Social Media: Persona vs Actual LifePatrick and I discuss the complications of living a genuine and honest life, and how social media is often a projection of unreal life.  "Everybody is struggling in some way. Everybody. Providing the support for everybody can only uplift the group. Let's help with that."0:42Undiagnosed ADD - Until AdulthoodPatrick got A's and D's in school. If he wasn't interested or struggling with the topic he would give up. He was never diagnosed with ADD because he wasn't "bouncing off the walls."0:44 Teaching Teenagers - Jonah teaching high school0:49Student Experiences - Schools Jonah Gets Accepted to College Early...Then Stops Attending Classes After Lunch0:56Working Life: Patrick's Experiences "I kind of still don't know what I want to be when I grow up."Graphic design. Copying. Temp Jobs. Help desk computer support for an architectural firm. Patrick's knack for understanding people and social skills helped him in working at a help desk, sort of as an IT translator. Moving back from DC, Patrick was a stay-at-home dad for a while and he explored website design. Patrick continues to work for a web design company. "I will watch YouTube videos on CSS tricks at 10:00pm on a Friday, because that's what I like to do."1:01Fatherhood: New Dad, DaycareThree days old, she had a crying fit that lasted 20 hours. Daycare was tough. She was three when we moved back to Boston. "I'm a good father. I'm a shitty daycare provider."1:07At the Park: "Maybe I'll nod."One of our parent friends now came from those moments at the park. 1:09Connecting: Patrick Has Social AnxietyPatrick sometimes gets stuck in his head. Jonah can relate. 1:10Not Reading Books, Not Exercising"I fill my day with distractions.""A fiction book is a fantasy and escape is necessary, but I never do it. My wife reads all the time."1(continued)

John G asks seven questions.What is your biggest challenge?What are you most excited about today?What is your biggest regret? Do you hold on to it?Who do you miss the most?What are you doing this Saturday?Andy asks about writing.What is writing to you? What does it do for you? What happens if you don’t do it? What parts of writing do you find most interesting?What parts most challenging?Ben asks about technology. Which aspects of technology and which devices do you think have had the most positive and negative impact on our lives? How do you try to get the good things and avoid the negative impacts?

Welcome Back to Jonah Asks. In this episode, meet Don Greenstein. I've known Don since I was a child. His mom is my Great Aunt Betty, which makes him my cousin. Don has a background in conflict management, facilitation of difficult communications, organizational development, law, and creative dispute management processes. He has more than 30 years of experience creating unique conflict resolution processes to meet the needs of those involved...at least that is what his work bio says. Don is a warm, compassionate and thoughtful human. I'm grateful we had this talk. music: Bright Eyes "First Day of My Life"OpeningFamily BackgroundLiving above the Vet Hospital in Victor, New York (1950s and 1960s)Don goes out into the field and helps his dad deliver a baby calf0:08Don's paternal grandparents were from Germany and Hungary, coming to the U.S. in the 1890s. 0:10Don's parents, known as "Betty and Eddie" to the rest of the family, met in Farmingdale, New York. They were married for 72 years and knew each other for 77 years. 0:13Divorce Becomes Common in 1970sDon's parents and Jonah's grandparents (on both sides) all had marriages that lasted over 65 years. Nearly all the children of those three couples have been through their own divorces. Don: "I think it was the culture of my generation. It was easier to throw things away than work on them.""It takes two to get married and it takes two to get divorced."On what kept marriages together in the 1940s and 1950s. Don: "Relationships are hard, but I think people of the older generation knew hardships and knew how to work and were willing to stay." Jonah mentions cultural changes, employment changes and opening up of options for women.Mediation: Creating a Fair ProcessMediations require people to give up things on both sides. When people walk away from mediation, if each person is a little agitated, that's probably a win-win. If one person feels very happy and the other is mad, that's unacceptable to me.Both people have to be willing to compromise. I've often thought it would be a great way to set a business model. If this is a hot dispute and you're going to yell at each other, then my rates are going to be $500 an hour. If you guys can work together, It'll be $150 an hour."Business Counseling Versus Personal CounselingDon had social work experience working with juveniles when he was in college. "Even though I have to be neutral, I'm more connected to the people I work with than counselors allow themselves to be. In my work now as an ombudsman (Brandeis University) Ninety percent of the people I see, I only see one person." 0:23An Ongoing Mediation: Getting a Couple to Finally Reach Agreement After Two and a Half YearsDomestic relations mediation. Don worked for a firm where he worked on a complicated and drawn-out divorce case.Jonah talks about the experience of being a child of divorce. How repressed anger impacts families. Unleashing anger in a controlled way is necessary and a relief. 0:31Releasing Anger in Cathartic Way Vs Repressing AngerRicky Gervais' character on the show "After Life" releases his anger in ways that most people rarely do. 0:35Helen and Earl (Lynma and Poppadaddy)Don's Aunt Helen and Uncle Earl were Jonah's grandparents, known as Lynma and Poppadaddy0:40West Virginia AdventureDon worked for an Outward Bound Rehabilitation Program in Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. 0:46Nature, Mindfulness and Self-Care0:52Collective Political Urgency, Restorative Justice and State Legislation Around Issue of EqualityState legislatures restricting the vote and enforcing right-wing agenda on issues of equality around race and sexualityVoting restrictionshttps://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-december-20210:56Working as an Ombuds: Dealing With Those Who Won't CompromiseDon's experience at the university-level with those in power that aren't always open to compromise or ot(continued)