I got to see the musical Wicked yesterday evening. I found it every bit as good as everyone told me it is; a compelling story with interesting characters, told through stirring musical numbers with sets and effects that are some of the best I’ve seen. I won’t spoil the plot for you, but it tells […]
My scoutmaster shared a demonstration with our Scouts yesterday to help them understand how apologies work. He had each of us hammer a nail into a piece of wood, then pull it out. The wood represented a friend; the nails, the hurtful things we sometimes say and do to others. Pulling the nail from the […]
It’s hard to define success. It means something different to each of us: for some, it might be money; for others, power; for still others, fame or status. It might mean love, or well-adjusted children, or a day-to-day joy that life’s trials can’t overcome. If you’re religious, it might mean salvation, or bringing others to […]
Today is the best day of my life. Not because I expect something incredible to happen today, although I’m open to that possibility. Not because I think today will be significantly better than yesterday, although it certainly could be. Not even because I feel particularly good today, although I choose to feel good as often […]
Dr. Kelly Flanagan’s post yesterday resonated with me. We’re already who we want to be, he says. We just have to find us within ourselves. He’s right, as he usually is, and he says it better than I can, as he usually does. So I won’t try to recap his work. Click the link above […]
It’s nearly impossible to miss. If you spend time on the Internet, listen to talk radio, watch TV, talk to friends–you can find somebody who’s angry about something, somebody who’s ranting and raving and explaining at length, and in great detail, exactly what’s wrong and why and what should be done about it. It’s tempting […]
We all have plenty of crap in our lives. Maybe we’ve been fired from our job, or we don’t like our job, or we don’t like our boss. Maybe a friend has died, or a family member, or a pet. Maybe our marriage is in trouble. Maybe our marriage has failed, or we can’t find […]
I am awful at asking for help. It feels like weakness to me: if I have to ask for help, it means there’s something I don’t know, and if there’s something I don’t know, it means I am inadequate–as a leader, as a father, as a mentor and example and as someone others consider smart. […]
There’s little argument in the West against the evidence that ISIS, the apocalyptic organization that calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, does evil. In its campaign in Iraq and Syria, ISIS has killed thousands–most of them unarmed civilians or captives publicly and brutally executed to illustrated the group’s commitment to its […]
I recently heard a quote from the Talmud that resonated with me: You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it. I am not a religious scholar. I could not tell you the difference between the Torah and the Talmud, although I’m sure I’ve heard it described. […]