As a child, I was nightly lulled to sleep by the distant bellowing of the local train. There was something about that sound that always comforted me. Perhaps it was the idea of this mysterious but non...
We tend to consider ourselves discerning and selective beings, but we adopt suggestions and are influenced far more than we are willing to admit. Who and what are your influences?
If there exists the concept of death by a thousand cuts then there must also exist the idea of life by a thousand building blocks. Every action, every word, every thought we have matters...
New is beautiful, so we often allow our emotions to sweep us along with the new, the novel, and the unfamiliar. It does not take long for us to abandon our ardor, so fickle and inconstant are we...
The people we surround ourselves with become a sounding board for our own behaviors and attitudes. If we project anger, then that anger will move outward with a force on to those around us, it may be ...
True kindness is not being pleasant when everyone is being pleasant. It is a conscious effort to remain friendly, gentle, considerate when others are behaving at their worst.
Our most important decisions will not be served up with clear-cut, obvious choices. We must consider our values, priorities, conscience, and seek guidance from trusted sources. We should not be concer...
The most impactful education is through example. We have the greatest influence not by seeking to control others, convincing others of our importance, or through eloquent argument or debate,
Our lives are subject to indiscriminate external forces, much like the way wind affects flight. We may choose to fly like the leaf, with little effort, but tossed about at random. We may, instead, cho...
If we walk slowly away from the city, the dissonant man-made orchestra stops, the light diffuses, all seems dead, quiet, dark, and empty. As our ears and eyes adjust, we begin to perceive the forest s...
Perfection does not exist; not in a partner, not in a single place, not in a career, not in this life. The consolation is that authentic beauty resides in the imperfect, and our happiness depends upon...
Life is constant motion, electrons, atoms, planets, stars, galaxies, and everything in between. What makes us think that we alone shall remain the same, or believe that it is good or useful to do so?
All parents want their children to be happy. They think, if only my child has that which was inaccessible to me, then they may be happy. However, happiness has always been an internal process, accessi...
Almost every positive step forward or success is preceded by a prolonged series of attempts and failures. Whether we call it practice, science, or innovation, failure is the most necessary and useful ...
We are ultimately alone in our inner sanctum, our happiness depending upon our own internal fortitude, our ability to jettison vanities, and our capacity to meaningfully empathize with others that sha...
To be fulfilled we must put in effort, to be virtuous we must exercise discipline and self-control, to achieve professional successes we must apply work ethic. No matter how we spin it, a life well-li...