Over the Boston Harbor

That's where I've been looking most of the day.

I'm in Boston, at a board meeting and conference. I'm co-chair of the board of a nonprofit whose members invest in socially-responible and environmentally sustainable companies.

Our board meeting went very well. The org's leader for over 5 years is on sabbatical this year, and amazingly enough, we are also flush with cash for the first time ever. The staff is doing a great job and we decided to give them a generous bonus pool for the year. That felt very good and they sure do deserve it.

And tonight several old friends appeared and I got to catch up with them. One is a guy who worked for me about 5 years ago. He's now living in London, working at an investment firm chaired by Al Gore, and has an 11-month old girl at home. My friend is a born networker and schmoozer but now hates travelling and tries to spend as much time as he can with her.

His wife is working three days a week, and while she works the daughter is at home with an amazing nanny. They'd like to move back to NY but he cannot imagine he'd ever get to see his daughter if they did. Living in Manhattan, he said, they'd both have to work more and if they moved somewhere affordable out of the city, the length of commuting time would also cut into his daughter time. He says London is easier - great nannies who are affordable AND people just work less, period. He seems quite happy, though apparently the kid's American grandparents are heartbroken that she's so far away.

Another interesting family/work challenge - they do seem to be everywhere when you start to look!

One of our org's members, Matt S., read to us tonight from his book, called Waking. He made an impassioned, very moving argument that the impulse that drives us to want to make our money more connected to the planet is similar to the one that connects our minds and body. He was in a car accident at age 13 and became a paraplegic. His story is about disconnecting, and then reconnecting, his own mind and body. It occured to me that babymaking and parenting also require a new kind of connection with your body. Biology prevails. As will the planet, whether we choose to stop polluting it and exploiting its resources or not. Matt now runs a yoga studio and has invested in social companies for over 12 years. Great guy. And he signed a book copy for me. I feel honored!