Spirituality
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The Friendship Recession: Part 1 – Learned Loneliness
We have learned ourselves out of covenant relationships, and this is the core of learned loneliness. Covenants seem archaic because so many are not willing to say: I will do my part, even if, for a time, you aren’t doing your part. Continue reading
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Authenticity and Humility in the Noise of Greatness
It does not take courage to be authentically yourself; it takes humility. Continue reading
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God’s Will and Vocation
“…a job is a way of fulfilling a vocation, and particular jobs – if we are reflectively learning through them, may generate an evolution in our vocation. A key to making this important point real is being aware of God working in you through a particular job.” Continue reading
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A Meaning of Otherness: Colossians 3
Whether it is Bible reading or living in a home, we metaphorically translate what is foreign into familiarity and move what is to what ought to be. That is, overcoming otherness is bringing our uniqueness to a situation not originally intended to accept it, and then translating and transforming the situation so the uniqueness can… Continue reading
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2022 in Review: Part 3 – The Year in Art
We may need again to become local and to direct our gaze to humans and particular scales and scopes. Continue reading
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Sacrifice for the Common Life
It may have been the first human, the first common thing she heard in a long while. Continue reading
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Moral Ideals and the Pathology of “Doing Your Best”
“… Development itself constantly changes the self’s possibilities such that what would count as one’s ‘best’ transforms in ways that are at once real and out of view.” Continue reading
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EDI, ESG and Nurturing Leadership Without Judgment
ESG and EDI initiatives remind me of the various English tests we used as a representation of one’s English skills: I could get any student to pass the test, but it was really hard to give them the skills to get out of the airport. Continue reading
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From Humility to Meekness: From Submission to Agency
A humble individual may be wrong but he must also feel bad about it. Even if one doesn’t feel bad about being wrong there is often real or imagined pressure to virtue signal; I may not feel bad that I was wrong, but I have to apologize as if I did. Continue reading
About me: I am a career educator and traveler at heart. My written work includes academic writing in philosophy and linguistics, English acquisition, and most intently in the areas of spiritual engagement with reality and what that means for our public lives.
My education is a mixture of formal study in philosophy, political theory, Biblical studies, and history, along with professional teaching certification in TESOL and in cognitive testing, and international teaching.
My travel experiences include a range of countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. I have lived in Canada, the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand. From those places I have traveled to many others besides.
I am a child of the 70’s and a “family man.” That means I have two wonderful kids who have been round the world with me.
Lastly, I am married to a wonderful woman since 2004. She is my partner, my friend, and my muse.
Thanks again for stopping by,
Raymond Klassen - Ideals and Identities 