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. 

All across the US, anxious high school students are watching their emails and busily refreshing their browsers waiting to hear about college acceptances.  It's that time in life where seemingly everything is dependent on a few strangers making a decision in your favor. But what if all of that angst is overblown? What if getting into the right school and getting great grades really isn't the key to success?  Could all this angst be a waste of time? 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?