Five Questions with Matthew Lee

What Makes You Come Alive?

Whether I am co-creating an educational journey with students, conducting research ("pursuing truth in the company of friends," as one College so eloquently phrased it), or collaborating to serve a community, I feel most alive when I sense that love is fully present. Love, in its various manifestations -- as a way of seeing, a way of relating, a Sacred force for flourishing, the ground of Being, a feeling, and much else -- is of course always present. But in our daily experiences we might not always sense love fully or see it manifest at the deepest level. I smile whenever I feel that I have contributed to the emergence of a more loving social container: a space that helps us love each other, and the conditions that nurture all of life, more fully into being. As a dear friend who passed away last year said to me, "we do not aim for the comfortable life of 'happiness,' but for a heart that falls in love."To translate this abstract discussion into something that is perhaps more practical, I might gently suggest that at least some of my research has been informed by both the deep wisdom of the disciplines of the humanities, such as philosophy and theology, and the rigorous methods of science. My PhD happens to be in sociology, but I have always been interested in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiries. No single scholarly discipline has a monopoly on love, so if we desire a more loving world, then it makes sense to connect insights and modes of inquiry across disciplines. We aspired to do this in collaborative books like "The heart of religion: Spiritual empowerment, benevolence, and the experience of God's love," "Measuring well-being: Interdisciplinary perspectives from the social sciences and the humanities," and "Transcending crisis by attending to care, emotion, and flourishing."A central goal of loving service to others is the promotion of their deepest flourishing. And as another friend put it, "In the giving of self lies the unsought discovery of a better self." The 'other' that we love could be a person, a place, all creation, or the Sacred. Research shows that the promotion of well-being is an essential element across all types of love, including romantic, parental, neighborly, spiritual, and so on. We don't mean jealous love, violent love, or "graveyard love," to borrow the memorable words of Joyce, a woman serving a life sentence in prison. Martin Luther King, Jr., expressed timeless wisdom when he said, "Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice." And Dr. Bob, one of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, saw very clearly that AA's Twelve Steps, "when simmered down to the last, resolve themselves into the words 'love' and 'service.'" I feel most alive when I am participating in powerful acts of love and service.

Pivotal turning point in your life?

It is difficult to name a specific turning point. So many people have been generous with me and helped me to see a possibility that was initially outside my line of sight. I attempted to enroll in a graduate program with a very limited focus and the core faculty realized that if I pursued that path that I would likely become unfulfilled in the long run. They could have taken my tuition, but they cared about my flourishing and suggested a program that their university did not offer. I only spent 30 minutes with them, but they wanted the best for me. I was not just a number in a spreadsheet. People have related to me in that kind and generous way many times and it reminds me to relate that way too. Those are always turning points that help me back onto the right path.

An Act of Kindness You'll Never Forget?

My mom has been kind to so many people over the years. I am thinking of the many sacrifices that she made for me and my sister when we were growing up, and also about the way she cared for a relative with advanced Alzheimer's, which included dealing with complicated legal issues involved in settling the disposition of an estate. These are not glamorous acts that lead to fame or fortune, but her kindness is grounded in a firm commitment to the good of the other.

One Thing On Your Bucket List?

My professional life has been abundant, and I aim to spend more time with my family.

One-line Message for the World?

Life, at its core, is about love and service.