What’s Next

For anyone asking what comes after the title, the paycheck, or the plan.

Below are 404 what's next posts from Tim. Use the filters to find what you are looking for within this category.

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The Nickel Boys
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The Nickel Boys

By Colson Whitehead Editor

September 30, 2024

Book of The Month: "The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead Editor’s note: This is the third Whitehead book I’ve featured. After enjoying his fictional character portrayals of 1970’s Harlem, I...
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Old Man
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Old Man

By Neil Young

September 30, 2024

Song of the Month:  “Old Man” by Neil Young Editor’s note: Befitting this month’s topic, here’s an oldie from my college days. Favorite lyric: “Old man, take a look at...
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Here’s to Life
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Here’s to Life

By Richard Lederer

September 30, 2024

  Now that I am full of years and white of hair and the evening star glows in the sky, I know that as my life accumulates, I am surprised...
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The View at 72
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The View at 72

By Tim McCarthy

September 30, 2024

This month I will celebrate 72 years on earth. Here are a few notes on the view from here. There is only one thing I do not like about being...
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Rating Your Playfulness
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Rating Your Playfulness

By Tim McCarthy

September 3, 2024

A spiritual writer I admire, Regina Brett, wrote “play like you mean it” in her recent blog and it got me thinking about rating my own skills for playfulness.  Score...
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Growing Sideways
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Growing Sideways

By Noah Kahan

September 3, 2024

Song of the Month:  “Growing Sideways” by Noah Kahan Editor’s Note:   I love great turns of phrases, especially when the discussion is self-discovery.  This Noah Kahan song is his...
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The Doctor Is In
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The Doctor Is In

By Tim McCarthy

August 6, 2024

Alice and the kids have long teased me as the Dr. with no MD. Children of medical doctors often believe we are experts just by having watched our dads ply...
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Paradox
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Paradox

By Kai Cheng Thom

August 6, 2024

Paradox is where enlightenment is born—it’s not about resolving or conquering paradox by choosing one side; rather, it’s in the tension of more than one truth being true that a...
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Fear is Self-Imposed
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Fear is Self-Imposed

By Jocelyn McCauley

July 1, 2024

Fear is self-imposed, meaning it doesn’t exist, you create it, and you can destroy it. I love fear because behind every fear is a person you want to be. ---Jocelyn...
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Demon Copperhead
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Demon Copperhead

By Barbara Kingsolver Editor

July 1, 2024

Book of The Month: "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver Editor’s Note:   (Thanks for the tip, Joe.)  Imagine someone believing they could update Charles Dicken’s famous “David Copperfield” and get...
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Taking My Chances
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Taking My Chances

By Tim McCarthy

June 4, 2024

Last month, I wrote about working at the polls to investigate the reality of election fraud.  To those who suggested I’m naïve, I wrote: “I trust elections for the same...
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Being Human is a Guest House
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Being Human is a Guest House

By Rumi

June 4, 2024

  This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain...
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Someone to Watch Over Me
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Someone to Watch Over Me

By Ella Fitzgerald

April 29, 2024

Song of the Month:  “Someone to Watch Over Me” by George Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald  Author’s note:  Maybe it was just the mood I was in, but this song played in...
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Book(s) of the Month  |  5 Books to Revisit
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Book(s) of the Month  |  5 Books to Revisit

By Viktor Frankl

April 29, 2024

Book(s) of The Month: Inspirations for radical change, aka books that have given definition to my own search for meaning. Editor’s note: I didn’t read anything worth sharing this month. ...
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Newsletter: The Love We Make

By Tim McCarthy

April 1, 2024

Among all our weakness and humanity, love is the one thing we can all bring equally to our world. [more] I found a letter my Dad sent me after he...
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Faking It
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Faking It

By Tim McCarthy

April 1, 2024

How many times can you remember “faking it”? My list is very long. The first few weeks of high school The first few weeks of college A few months on...
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Don’t Aim at Success
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Don’t Aim at Success

By Viktor Frankl

March 2, 2024

  Quote of the Month: Don’t aim at success—the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like...
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In Loving Memory | Tom Smothers | 1937 – 2023 | If I Had A Ship
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In Loving Memory | Tom Smothers | 1937 – 2023 | If I Had A Ship

By Tim McCarthy

December 31, 2023

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Loving Kindness
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Loving Kindness

By Sharon Salzberg

December 31, 2023

“When we think of loving kindness or love as an ability, it's inside of us. It's ours. Other people certainly may ignite it or inspire it or threaten it, but...
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Wasted on the Way
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Wasted on the Way

By Graham Nash

November 30, 2023

Editor’s note: occasionally when listening to a playlist of my favorite musicians, I find a cut I don’t remember well or at all.  While playing a Crosby Stills and Nash...
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The Book of Charlie
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The Book of Charlie

By David Von Drehle

November 30, 2023

Editor’s Note: As you know, I’m fascinated by the human need for, search for, meaning. Von Drehle does a brilliant job of using the story of one man to illustrate...
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