Artist, scientist, jack-of-all-trades master-of-most, with the cool clear eyes of a seeker of wisdom and truth
Today is the second Holly Day, on which we consider Compassion. I’ve been listening to Paul Bloom talking about empathy, and the seductive danger of emotional reactivity, which makes us care more about a baby in well than climate change. Compassion is not that sort of follow-your-heart trap. It is the idea of caring for … More Compassion
The first Holly Day is Unity. How ironic is that in America at the end of 2016? Our bubbles seem to be drifting further and further apart. As Hannah Arendt and others observed, some of what allowed the Nazis to take over Germany was liberals trying too hard to be accommodating to an ideology they … More Unity
Today is the Holly Day of Love, another of the values I take on faith, although I think I can support this one with reason, math and testing. There is this fascinating little plot line running lately in The Good Wife. A character claims there are two kinds of people, one who will say “excuse … More Love
I haven’t been posting my usual Holly Days rants. Been a very weird year for me, but when this popped up on this Day of Truth, I thought to share. I once (decades ago while she was doing press junkets for Harold and Maude) heard Ruth Gordon say the key to living long and being … More Truth
On this final day of our year we contemplate Forgiveness. My post yesterday was pretty meta, but this principle deserves more attention. I mentioned that I interpret the teachings of Jesus as rabbinic midrash. The radical forgiveness he advocated (how I wish the fundamentalists were holding up signs that read Matthew 5:44) of loving one’s … More Forgiveness
The last trinity of Holly Days starts on the eve of New Years Eve, with Atonement, then Forgiveness and Redemption. I like to add some of the traditions of The Days of Awe, like eating apples dipped in honey, and casting bread upon the waters, which for me is usually feeding the seagulls at the beach. … More Holly Days of Awe
Today is Love This third trinity has no traditional holiday like the other three, which are anchored by the Solstice, Christmas and New Years. I have three simple but comprehensive values that guide my life and that I am willing to accept on faith, so I made these the principals of this orphan trinity. The primary value is Truth. Having faith in the … More Truth Love and Courage
Today is Gratitude. Our Holly Days have been mostly derailed this year by Deena’s cancer. We finally managed to light our Menorah last night for the first time after our big Christmas/Generosity Feast. Today, thinking about this very scary detour we have taken, I was surprised to realize how lucky she has been in this. Cancer, The … More Gratitude
I re-read my little santa memoir as I posted it just know, and realized that most folk would assume that this was hyperbolic: ‘This Santa goes out on the street and waves at passing cars, and fantastically, despite his girth, does cartwheels and hand springs, grand jete’s and pirouettes, as he bellows out his ho ho … More Nesdon Foye Booth Senior
Today is Generosity. One of the reasons I so love Holly Days, as most of my friends know, is that my Dad, who was an actor, enthusiastically played Santa every Christmas in exchange for presents from me and my sisters in the last years of his life. He was a wonderfully generous man, an excellent cook who … More Generosity
HOLLY DAYS 