William’s battle songs. He’s always liked these songs, but they now have a much more profound meaning. As we drive around Memphis on the weekends, I see his beautiful face in the back of the car singing and we talk about what these words mean to him now. His favorite battle song is “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons. The lyrics are profound; I actually did a deep song breakdown on this song in 2021. If you’ve been inspired by these... Read more
Valentines Day came a day early for our family. As William rapidly progressed through his physical therapy and was looking good, he was released on Thursday of last week. He arrived home to a massive pile of Lego, get well cards, and hockey swag. My family and I cannot relay how much we’ve appreciated the outpouring of prayers, thought, and support. To have William home with his family these last few days and playing hockey in his room has been... Read more
Brain surgery is now behind us. Iron Heart continues to make strides, a little more each day. He’s upright again, moving around, crushing physical therapy, and of course, building Lego. Naomi and I continue to be overwhelmed by our friends, family, and community. We cannot relay how much we appreciate all the thoughts, prayers, and outpouring of support. Even strangers whom we’ve never met before have reached out offering their thoughts and prayers. It’s easy to be inspired by William’s... Read more
Hockey players talk in periods, so quick update on William’s first intermission. The first period is over. Iron Heart’s large “weed” (as Grandpa calls it) was fully removed and confirmed by MRI. He’s already building his new Lego Audi (with his left hand again, two days after brain surgery) around his physical therapy and progressing beautifully with his recovery. He also got a nice visit from Mystic, a large black Newfoundland. The MRI suite couldn’t believe his calm (both times).... Read more
Perspective. The world looks so different now in ways that I could never have imagined. As a husband, father, athlete, coach, medical device professional, and writer, I thought I had leaned into incredible feats of adversity philosophically and in my own life. I now have to laugh at how little I thought I knew – and how real, personal, and harrowing this journey has been (and will be). At the same time, I’ve seen a faith and strength modeled by... Read more
Brain surgery on a seven-year-old. First hill is to remove the large tumor. As William has strengthened and inspired me more in the last week than I’ve ever been in my life, I thought I would share some encouragement from Iron Heart’s pre-surgical protocol: Build full Lego Police Station with non-dominant hand (Lego building sucks with an IV on the right, so he just switched sides) Watch hockey highlights with Dad from last night’s games Drawing and reading with Mom,... Read more
“Am I going to die?” are harrowing words I pray no parent will ever be asked by their seven-year-old child. Hearing that question posed by my son William after the ER physician closed the door and told him, me and his mother “I don’t have good news” – I can easily say Feb 1st, 2025, has been the worst day of my and Naomi’s lives. I’ve written on the problem of evil and suffering as well as several famous Stoic... Read more
It’s a scary thought, Descartes’ challenge for truth seekers: “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.” This quote touches upon that having a spirit of critical thinking. Doubt towards established beliefs or dogma is necessary if one is truly seeking after truth. A spirit of doubt, however, is the only the start. When we do come around to something where... Read more
I love the Japanese concept of Ikigai. You may have come across in this popular figure from Héctor Garcia and Francesco Miralles’ book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. They give a nice definition of Ikigai being the “happiness of always being busy” which is “like logotherapy, but it goes a step beyond.” It’s the place where purpose, meaning, and motivation are harmonized – a coherence of mind, body, and spirit – a flow state where... Read more
Epictetus drops the mic on the famous Stoic “dichotomy of control.” “The chief task in this life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can clearly say to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.” This dichotomy of control is just... Read more
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