by Jim Holbrook There is a street in the city of Maastricht in the Netherlands where 50 Jews lived in August 1942. Gentiles on the street stood by as they Read More »
Archive for the 'Reflections of an Old Teacher' Category
Reflections on Libertarian and Communitarian Mediation
In April 2007 I was invited by the U.S. Department of State’s American Center in Mumbai of to teach negotiation and mediation in several law schools in western and southern Read More »
Reflections on America’s Racial Divisions
By Jim Holbrook I grew up in St. Louis about two miles from Ferguson. Michael Brown and I are both graduates of Normandy High School. When I attended Normandy, it Read More »
Reflections on the Drunkard’s Walk
The “drunkard’s walk” is a mathematical expression describing random motion. If we watch a drunk try to walk, we cannot predict his next staggering step (whether it will be forward, Read More »
Reflections on the Stone the Builders Rejected
For the past few years I have struggled with my sense of my own mortality. I was angry that I would not “live forever,” make my “mark” on history, lay Read More »
Reflections on Lewis Carroll’s Rule No. 5 about Letter Writing
Using Positive Reactive Reciprocity to Reduce Conflict in Communication by Jim Holbrook Reciprocity is the turn-taking engine in communication. It is rocket fuel for negotiation. Reciprocity is “the almost universal Read More »
Reflections on Finding and Living Our Vocation
Reflections on Finding and Living Our Vocation* “Someone has a great fire in his soul and nobody ever comes to warm themselves at it, and passers-by see nothing but a Read More »
Reflections on Walking Meditatively at Age 70
By Jim Holbrook When I was in my 30s, I jogged 24 miles a week (4 times a week on a 6-mile route through my neighborhood). I jogged at a Read More »
Reflections on the Importance of Always Being Kind
By Jim Holbrook “Be kind, for everyone you meet is carrying a great burden” is a maxim attributed to the first-century Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo. “Always be kind” is the Read More »
Reflections on Midlife Recalibration and Wisdom
“On a day-to-day basis, I probably do the same things, but I feel different,” [my 50-year old friend K.] says. Her values have shifted away from work: “I could see Read More »