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The Currency of Love
Provocation is often met with anger on social media, in traffic, and at family gatherings, among other places. On the global stage, a spiral of violence is unfolding, making many of us feel unsafe. As I’ve pointed out in previous articles, there are smarter ways to respond than revenge, and it’s…
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Illusions of Likes
In a world where we constantly see others’ lives through filtered images, it’s easy to believe that the meaning of life is about impressing others. We want to show that we’re doing well, that we’re successful, loved, and seen. But in the chase for admiration, many of us lose touch…
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The Will To Go On
When I went to sea in 1962, at the age of fifteen, my mother gave me an envelope filled with poems. She feared that the rough, male-dominated environment on board would erase whatever artistic potential I might have had. One of the poems was “If” by Rudyard Kipling, a heroic call…
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Strength of Age
In the Philippines, it’s still common to bow one’s head and lift an elder’s hand to the forehead in a gesture of deep respect (mano po). It’s a simple and beautiful act that says, ‘I see you, I value you, I ask for your blessing.’ In many Western societies, this…
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Silent Life
Silence has been so present in my life over the past nine years that I’ve come to call this period The Years of Silence. It was never planned. The silence I now write about appeared like an old acquaintance when my wife, Grace, and I moved from Davao, Philippines, to…
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Imagine Something Better — and Act Now!
Warnings of an impending civilizational collapse are numerous. Many of our leaders belong to an establishment unable to respond with the responsibility the moment demands. Those who understand the gravity of the situation are not being heard. So what can we, those of us beginning to grow uneasy, do now?…
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Road to the North
It all began back in the Philippines before I ever set foot in Europe. My husband spent some time in front of his computer, checking out different Spanish regions. He was excited to show me the newest area he had found online. The photos were of the North: green, lush,…
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The Knowledge That Great Powers Ignore, at Everyone’s Expense
While the UN and many civil society actors continue to advocate for a more just, cooperative, and compassionate global order, the knowledge needed to build such a world is consistently overlooked, especially by the most powerful nations, whose priorities remain entrenched in rivalry, deterrence, and domination. This neglect now threatens…
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Strategy for Survival
A civilizational collapse rarely happens suddenly. Most often, it’s a slow, creeping unraveling. We won’t wake up one morning and find civilization gone. It will dissolve, one system at a time, not everywhere at once but in waves. In my previous article, Heading for the Brink, I highlighted Stephen Hawking’s…
