Mark McMinn
Saying More about Saying Less
Authors have a tinge of arrogance. Well, maybe more than a tinge. It takes some hubris to believe we have something important to say to...
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Grace Swirls Blog
Mark McMinn
- Aug 16
- 2 min
The Grace of Gentling Places
Angry has its own verb (anger). Judgmental also has one (judge). Doesn't it seem that gentle should have one, too? It turns out it does....
Mark McMinn
- Jul 31
- 4 min
Facing the Shadow of Shame
This post breaks the rules. Rule #1: Keep everything simple. It's a good rule for blog-writing and reels where we only have a moment to...
Mark McMinn
- Jun 30
- 4 min
How to Make a Grown Man Cry
I’ll answer, but circuitously. Several decades ago, I failed my first attempt at a board certification exam, so I arranged supervision...
Mark McMinn
- Jun 15
- 3 min
Let it Be
I was once in a band called Salt. Okay, it wasn't a great band, and I was definitely the weak link. Put a guy with no rhythm on rhythm...
Mark McMinn
- May 17
- 4 min
Nothing to Fear. Really?
If you’re a psychologist, counselor, or in another helping profession, do you ever wonder why we do this work? So much of it comes down...
Mark McMinn
- Apr 27
- 3 min
Wrapping Up a Quiet Ego
Those iconic sweaters Fred Rogers wore on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were hand-knitted by his mother, Nancy McFeely Rogers Flagg. She...
Mark McMinn
- Apr 16
- 3 min
Grow Thyself
An ancient Greek inscription from at least 2600 years ago reads, “Know Thyself.” This notion captured the attention of many early Greek...
Mark McMinn
- Mar 11
- 3 min
Rediscovering Compassion
What's happened to us? In the past week an elected U.S. Representative heckled the President during a nationally televised speech with a...
Mark McMinn
- Mar 2
- 3 min
High School Speeches, ChatGPT, and Quieting the Ego: Interdependence
Every couple who has been married a long time has stories they repeat. One of ours has to do with me being salutatorian in high school...
Mark McMinn
- Feb 18
- 3 min
Hearing over Goats and Quieting the Ego: Detached Awareness
Lisa, my dear spouse, tends Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats who often show up in her blog posts. I may have rolled my eyes at that a few...
Mark McMinn
- Feb 7
- 2 min
Be Still, My Ego
You know that thing where you're in a crowded restaurant and it's hard to hear the people you're with? So you talk louder, and your...
Mark McMinn
- Jan 23
- 1 min
Yearning for Grace
In three separate conversations today and yesterday, I have been reminded of how deeply we long to be seen. Beneath our various...
Mark McMinn
- Jan 16
- 2 min
Thawing
In northwest Oregon, as with much of the country, we've been enduring some Very Cold weather in recent days. One of my tasks is to swap...
Mark McMinn
- Dec 20, 2023
- 3 min
Why Are People So Mean? (and the Grace of the World)
Lisa Graham McMinn and I are each memorizing poems this Advent season, trying to push against the inevitable cognitive slippage of life...
Mark McMinn
- Dec 9, 2023
- 4 min
Why are People So Mean? Challenge #10: Love
I loved his Bostonian accent. Amidst a crowd of tall people, I was just 9 years old on May 17, 1968 when I listened to Robert F. Kennedy...
Mark McMinn
- Nov 30, 2023
- 4 min
Why are People So Mean? Challenge #9: Hope
I started this series because of David Brooks. His article, "How America Got Mean" reflects the pulse of contemporary society, and while...
Mark McMinn
- Nov 25, 2023
- 3 min
Why are People So Mean? Challenge #8: Faith
I've saved the best for last. Inspired by David Brooks's article, "How America Got Mean," I am offering ten challenges for how we might...
Mark McMinn
- Nov 14, 2023
- 3 min
Why are People So Mean? Challenge #7: Good Grief
In writing this blog series on how not to be so mean, I keep getting redirected to Charles Schultz, creator of the famed Peanuts comic...
Mark McMinn
- Nov 5, 2023
- 4 min
Why are People So Mean? Challenge #6: Meeting Our Inner Narcissist
The Perfunctory Opening Paragraph I'm writing a series of posts prompted by David Brooks's article in The Atlantic titled, "How America...
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