On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
Many start the day leaping out of bed as if shot out of a cannon. Running through our minds is a myriad of urgent obligations, and we send our brains into overdrive by first checking our phones for “vital” messages and “consulting” social media. We want to start the day on the right foot but […]
Opinion ≠ Fact
What to make of it? The Stoics Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius both commented that it isn’t the events that disturb people but their judgments about them. This principle is evident as I write these words from the terrace of our accommodations in Barcelona, Spain. I hear vehicles rumbling down the street, construction noise, and people […]
With a Little Help from My Friends
Their Part The lyrics from a 1967 Beatles song remain true today, “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.” We are born with less knowledge than a turtle that intuitively knows to crawl out of its sandy nest and use moonlight to find its ocean home. Someone taught us everything we […]
Be Careful with Your Tribe
Magnetism and Metamorphosis Our moms told us not to hang out with troublemakers because she feared us becoming one. My dad told me, “If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.” Noted author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn stated, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time […]
Yes, Even When I Have Been the SOB
Me? You may expect the person you need to forgive most is the parent who misshaped you during your formative years or the school bully who gave you wedgies and an inferiority complex. Yes, you need to forgive them, but you need self-forgiveness, as an absence impedes the pursuit of a fulfilling life. Please note […]
Yes, Even the SOB
No Way! You often hear, “I will not forgive her until she apologizes.” When we make forgiveness contingent on the offender expressing remorse, offering an apology, and making amends, we do not appreciate the purpose of forgiveness or the consequences of unforgiveness. The forgiver is forgiveness’s first beneficiary. The act of forgiving releases the wounded […]
With Us or Against Us?
Don’t Throw the Baby out with the Bathwater It seems like we must answer every issue with a binary choice: yes or no. The all-or-nothing standard leads us to believe that disagreement over part is disagreement over the whole, leading to unnecessary alienation. You either approve of the political party’s entire platform or are labeled […]
Father Time’s Reality Check
For my 60th birthday last year, I wrote the typical, funny, “I can’t believe I’m here” stories about reaching a milestone birthday. Some harsh reality set in in the past twelve months, but it also validated last year’s message. Reality Sets In Rather than hearing I looked too good to be 60, I endured abundant […]
Attaboy/girl for All the Right Reasons
What is the purpose of accolades, and what do we do with them? Acceptance First, accept the compliment graciously by thanking the provider. Often, we respond flippantly in an attempt at humility. Have you ever said, “Yes, the dress is pretty, but my butt looks big,” or “Yes, I finished the marathon, but I ran […]
Don’t Silence, Give Them a Megaphone
Sweet Land of Liberty? In a country proclaiming freedom of speech as its preeminent 1st Amendment constitutional value, we now seek to silence voices instead of protecting them. College students protest to cancel speakers with “incorrect” viewpoints. News programs are now echo chambers for one side’s political views. When a panel includes those with opposing […]