My son tried to join two pieces of plastic using some liquid PVA school glue. I explained that this was the wrong kind of glue to use; it wouldn’t work well.

Later, I noticed his project on the table. Instead of a little glue, he had now used a lot of glue.

This kind of error isn’t limited to children. Many of us make this kind of miscalculation too, knowingly or unknowingly.

Whether our fix is through money, attention, food, risk, abandon, control … Sometimes we think, “This isn’t the best solution, but maybe it will work if I have a lot of it.”

Like using the wrong kind of glue, trying to solve a problem with great quantities of the wrong solution can easily become a mess.

There is a Lakota prophesy from some 2,000 years ago — that the birth of a white buffalo will signal the coming of better times.

One such buffalo calf was recently discovered in Yellowstone National Park.

It’s a good moment to ponder: what are better times? What do we think “better” is? Do we ever get it wrong? Is what we want for ourselves and for others … is this always better?

Are we wise enough to know?

The visiting team won by a wide margin. Throughout the game — even to the very end — they played with composure, focus, and good sportsmanship.

The home team lost by the same wide margin. Throughout the game — even to the very end — they played with composure, focus, and good sportsmanship.

Respect for the game and its players has nothing to do with the score. Winning or losing, by a lot or by a little, you always get to choose how you play the game.

I didn’t trust the thermometer reading. The room was surely warmer than what the gauge showed.

What I discovered is that the wall where the thermostat was mounted — that wall was particularly cold. The device was accurate; it was just measuring the temperature of the wall, not the air.

* * *

What’s close to us — what we allow to be close to us — can have profound effects. Our surroundings and our environment … they matter. But not nearly as much as what we keep close.

There’s a difficult balance we navigate. To know that we can make an impact. That our lives have purpose. That we can make a difference.

And at the same time, to know that we’re but a blip in time. A momentary twinkle in the infinite universe.

Ah, but what a twinkle we can be! In the lives of those close to us and in the work we commit ourselves to doing … our mark can be meaningful and memorable.

Keep leaning in.

“Last place” has a context: of all those who participated.

If there’s a comparison to be made — that some finish in higher standing and some finish lower — then the comparison might also be made that others do not even bother to try.

Competition has a place, but it also has a context.

Participation isn’t the stuff of trophies, but in some endeavors — internally — the effort counts as a win.

A defense contractor once explained that transport vehicles are approached differently in various branches of the military.

In one unit, the vehicle is fitted with lots of features and functionality.

In another, well, here’s how the contractor put it: “They’ll just rip that stuff out. They like the vehicles lean. They’ll strip away any extraneous gadgetry and only keep the essentials.”

There’s something inspiring about this latter approach. A sense of “We don’t need bells and whistles; we just need to get the job done.”

Sometimes we get caught up in our desire for convenience and comfort. But this can be an obstacle to forward progress. Instead of waiting on special tools and features, many times we can just set about our work.

Lucky, coincidental, timely, opportune, providential.

These words could be used interchangeably, but they’re not the same.

Each one hints at a kind of worldview.

Why do things happen at just the right time? What’s that about? What story do we tell ourselves when things fall together instead of falling apart?

The language matters.

It’s not enough to tell ourselves to remember the important things and to forget what’s not.

We have to train ourselves — sometimes at length — to identify which is which.

That is, to tell ourselves, in the moment, “This is worth noting. This is worth feeling. This is worth remembering.”

And likewise, “This? No need to dwell on this. No need to revisit it. I can gracefully let this go.”

In life, there are memories worth forming … and experiences worth forgetting.

Sort intentionally.

At times, we have moments when our minds blank. We’re about to answer a question or respond to a prompt, and *poof* we can’t recall what we were about to say.

How interesting.

There are countless programs and techniques designed to help us clear our minds. But when it happens unexpectedly — and quite naturally — it’s unsettling.

Perhaps we can learn to greet these blank moments with a smile. “Ah. There you are. The nothingness I was seeking.”

The timing may be off. But the empty space can be a welcome relief if we allow it.

A current diversity training program suggests avoiding slang, metaphors, and idioms. These don’t always resonate across cultures. For instance, sports metaphors don’t work with every audience.

(The program made some good, valid points.)

The training recommended exchanging metaphors, slang, and jargon with more universal and inclusive language — across the board.

That’s right: the script used the phrase, “across the board,” which is a term that originated in betting on horse races.

It was an amusing oversight.

Sometimes we’re so wet, we don’t even feel the water.

Today could be the start of an inflection point. A change. A shift.

In real time, inflection points don’t offer a lot of advance notice. We can see the arc later, but in the moment, they just kind of happen.

Even so, the hand on the rudder is ours. We choose how to influence the turns. We have the option to lean in a particular direction. The shift in balance is one that can begin internally.

Is today the beginning such a change? Time will tell.

There are all sorts of little games we can play. Many end up being meaningless.

Like being first in line. Or having a nicer garden than your neighbor. Or getting a front-row seat.

But there are other games we can play, too. Games with family, friends, and children. Games filled with joy and laughter. Like keeping a balloon from hitting the floor. Or seeing who can balance something the longest. Or who can make the silliest sound.

Life is filled with games. Which we choose to play — and which we choose to care about — colors our experience in not insignificant ways.

Set a minimum.

When time is short and your energy is fading, you’ll rally toward the goal. You’ll fight for the minimum. You’ll make sure to cross that lowest threshold. It’s the least you can do — rather, the least you’ll allow yourself to do.

Because the default minimum is nothing. Zero. And we can do better than zero.

Often we’ll do much more than that. But first, we have to set the bar.

Billie Eilish understands how inspiration works. She reminds us that we discover our own voice by experimenting with what we think sounds good. We don’t begin from the ground, but from the shoulders of those we admire. We don’t aim to copy, but we most definitely allow ourselves to be imprinted by the work that inspires us.

Here’s how she puts it. Billie Eilish (lightly edited) from her interview with Stephen Colbert. (The original is here.)

“I started recording when I was 13 and — you gotta take time to get to know yourself. At first, I was singing the way that I knew how to sing and the way that I felt like it sounded good. And with inspiration from my favorite singers and songs and artists, and I think over time, I learned who I was and how I actually wanted to sound and what was genuine. That’s why I think it's really important that people are more forgiving of inspiration because I think that we live in a world where everyone wants to have everything be perfectly original and no one’s ever done it ever in their lives. And absolutely, you don’t want to copy anyone — but you have to let yourself be inspired. And … when I hear a song or I see an artist do something or … some younger artist comes out and they have a song that sounds like mine or their voice sounds like mine, people are like, “[in protest],” and I’m just kind of like, “Dude. Let them — it’s okay. Let them figure it out. They’re inspired and inspiration is going to turn into more inspiration is going to turn into more inspiration. And you gotta let yourself do that.”

So go. Learn who you are by starting with what you love. Be inspired.

If you ever question your ability to make something beautiful, you’re not alone. If you ever wonder whether you’re capable of doing good work, you’re not alone. If you ever worry that your work isn’t what it could be or what it should be, you’re not alone.

We all have these moments.

The makers, the creators, the famous and the unrecognized. No one is immune.

The difference is — some choose to do it anyway. Some choose to face their fears saying, “And yet …”

Some work through the questions by living the questions.

Inasmuch as we can make work with confidence, we can make work with doubts too.

And we’ll be better for it.

Sometimes we resonate with others, sometimes not. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with the quality of our tone. It might just be that we’re on a different frequency.

Incompatibility doesn’t mean one party is wrong. It just means the two are not right for each other.

And that might be forever. Or it might just be for right now.

A simple reflection:

The world is our host. What gift do your bring upon your arrival?

When a root-bound plant is transplanted, the roots need to be untangled. For it to take to new soil, the dense root ball has to be freed.

Likewise, when we’re unseated from our own constraints, it can take a little modulation for us to begin growing and thriving once more. The shift alone is not sufficient; we have to stretch as well.

Follow what you love. Let your practice be born of what captures your interest. You have to start with your own creative desires.

Sometimes what you pursue will align with what others seek. Not what everyone seeks, but what some people seek. Other times, it will be lonely.

Alternatively, you can notice what’s popular and do that. But be ready to shift quickly; tastes change unexpectedly.

Better to listen to the creative impulse that starts from within; that’s a well that may take different forms, but it never runs dry.