Fear. We can let it consume us with certainty of failure — and failure we become — or we can turn it into focus, walk across that ladder, and embrace all we can be, all we want to be.

Dogs can - and do - teach us much about the world and how to live in it. One of the greatest lessons is acceptance of impermanence and living in the present.

As a nation, we need to accept - and acknowledge - our faults so that we can grow into a better tomorrow. That, after all, is how we can be the best patriots.

As I ran through the soggy mountains this Juneteenth morning, I thought about my clichés, about our clichés, about our collective desire to cling to them, and the courage it takes to see them as they are: trite and hackneyed expressions and concepts that often overlook the nuance of reality.