Stephen Kiesling's blog

Watching the Academy Awards I and everyone else got to see Sigourney Weaver, looking as graceful and determined as ever. I actually met her years ago and how could I forget? I was introduced by a mutual friend. I had no idea then who she was. I guess my friend assumed everyone knew. So we knocked on her door on the way to another apartment and were invited in for tea. She was fun and interesting and in the course of things I got her number, and invited her to dinner. She was flying on the Cannes the next morning, but she accepted and we went out and had a fairly good time at a local Japanese place. Just swapping stories, having fun. At least I was having fun. But when we left and were walking down the street, I remember how fast she walked. We practically race-walked down Columbus Avenue.  What was that about?

I found out a couple of days later. At least I think I did. I went to see her new movie and woke up to the fact that she was a movie star, recognized all over.  And in that realization, of course, everything changed. I called her again, but now I was tongue tied. And I wasn't sure why I was calling. Because I liked her? Or because she was a star? I am writing this story not because I know anything about her at all now, but because she is still a star.

What does this mean? I'm not sure. I promised myself I would write tonight, sat down, and there she was... And I've been working with a feature for the May issue about a paraplegic Native American horse trainer. A wonderful piece of writing about a writer who comes to love this broken man who breaks horses. And the reason she comes to love him is that she feels that he really sees her  -- just as he sees the horses he trains and the local people who come to his sweat lodges.

There is an art and a science to being seen. One can work at becoming a celebrity. And with grit and determination and talent and great looks and an enormous amount of luck, a few actually rise to a pinnacle of being recognized by everyone. There is obviously a lot of value in that.

But there is also enormous value also in the ability to see people. That extreme form of that ability may come from a stroke of seriously bad luck, like the car accident that crippled the horse trainer. Or a round of cancer. But I suspect it can also come from desire and practice. When we actually take the time to practice all the things we know -- and the stuff on our new practice pages -- I suspect each of us is a lot more likely to become that sort of "celebrity." And I suspect that, ultimately, it is a lot more satisfying than playing the part in a movie.

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve been AWOL from blogging for almost two years, concentrating on our print magazine because, well, I happen to love magazines.

I love the feel of paper, the great art, the hard deadlines for sending files to the printer, the flow and feel of it all. And I love the fact that magazines have editors. Even as editor-in-chief, I have to (get to) run my words past other editors who tell me bluntly whether or not the words seem worth the sacrifice of the trees it takes to print them. We write, rewrite, and rewrite again before we print anything. It’s a team effort and the ideas are better for the workings of a great team.

But a blog… it seems so much a solo effort. A lonely effort. Throwing a bottle into an ocean already littered with too many bottles. With so little commitment on either side, why bother?

But of course a blog can also be a team effort – and that’s what I hope will happen here. After almost twelve years of editing this magazine, I know that we have come up with some great tools for transformation. We’ve learned so much about how to make lives better, and how to contribute to the wellbeing of our planet. We have special tools to share – and we’ve created some new web pages that may in fact be the best way to share them. We simply don’t know.

So please, check them out. See if they help. If only for a few minutes become a member of this team that is dedicated to figuring out what might best be called “reality based” spirituality. Join us in being willing to look at everything we believe and everything we think we know to become the best possible people we can. Share what you think is right, what you think is wrong. Whether or not you choose to join us for any period of time is of course up to you. But I for one will feel grateful to everyone who shares a moment to be an editor, a co creator. Maybe we can create a bigger and better team, something more fun even than the print business.

Best

Steve

I recently led a workshop for novice travel writers at Rancho Encantado Eco-Resort in Laguna Bacalar, Mexico. A writer interviewed about the experience and posted his article at http://travel-writing.suite101.com/article.cfm/interview_with_editorinchief_stephen_kiesling