Democracy Cafe

Late late at night, long after holding with me earlier that day our first ever Socrates Cafe Podcast, and hours after putting the kids to bed (Ceci and the girls are on a trip right now), and after doing a mountain of other tasks, in the wee hours my life partner Ceci still somehow found time  and mustered the energy to post a beautiful blog not just about that experience, but that revealed her extraordinary love and wisdom. Yes, she is my own personal Diotima, and I am the luckiest man alive.

Among Ceci’s pearls of wisdom was this:  “dialogue can only take place where one is truly present for the other, available and even vulnerable. It is the conscious expression of the universe, that took millions of years to finally sprout. And history shows that just like once the dinosaurs were on top of the world, we might come and go. This is our chance to make the best of our humanity, mindfully, in dialogue.”

My wife has blended eastern and western traditions of dialogue — not just method but ethos — in a way that charts new possibilities for dialogue, for inquiry, for self, societal, universal evolution. She is a child at heart, and one of the most responsible adults I’ve had the privilege to know.  We have weathered difficult times together, including the tragic and sudden deaths of loved ones. Her strength, insight, support, wisdom make far more possible my ability to survive the worst slings and arrows life can throw my and our way, and to gain the kinds of insight that make it possible for me to make the most and best of things.

Ceci ends her blog thus: “Today, almost 20 years after that lovely dialogue took place, [Chris and I] repeat the same dialogue [in our podcast]. Only this time seems even more magical. It is clear to me that we are still soulmates. Even with our differences, our challenges, our very different backgrounds… or rather because of these lovely differences, we can recognize, appreciate and praise one another.”

I am the luckiest man alive. I hope someday I can be half the extraordinary being that she is.