The Emergent Self

Questioning what we're told it means to be human

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Shorter, story-driven reflections — often personal, sometimes provocative, always open to response. Read, disagree thoughtfully, and join the conversation. Choose a topic to narrow the list.

An older White woman in a Sunday coat and hat stands in a sunlit church, seen from behind, looking up at a large Haitian-style creation tapestry of Black figures, animals and a golden sun

A God You Can Keep in a ZIP Code

A parishioner once told me a tapestry did not belong in church because there were no White people in it. Thirty years later I have the words for what she was defending: not God, but a mascot.
Watercolor of a man seen from behind on a bench in a dim office break room, a second coffee cup set beside him as dawn light comes through the window, asking whether depression was really a gift

Was My Depression Really a Gift?

Was my depression really a gift? A former priest tests his own claim that the dark years after he left the priesthood were a gift.
Watercolor of a front door standing open onto a stone step, where a covered dish has been left, suggesting I'll pray for you as a doorway to showing up

Is “I’ll Pray for You” Ever Enough?

Is "I'll pray for you" ever enough? A former priest weighs the honest case for prayer and asks readers when those words open a door.
A hiker stands alone on a misty hilltop at dawn while faint, ghostly figures along the path below help others climb, steady a ladder, open a gate, and point the way

Nobody Is Self-Made

The phrase “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” began as a joke. Why nobody is truly self-made, and what privilege and intersectionality reveal about success.
Young man driving through a small town at dusk on graduation night, cap, gown and diploma on the seat beside him

“You’ll Be a Factory Line Worker”: Overcoming Humiliation and Becoming Who You Are

My high school guidance counselor told me I’d be a factory line worker for the rest of my life. Here’s what that moment taught me about humiliation, and about choosing my own story.

About the author

I’m Robert K. Green, a writer and scholar who has spent a lifetime questioning what we’re told it means to be human. This blog is where I think out loud.

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