Things happen that make us sad. No one escapes, and it is not often voluntary. The culture of this decade tells us ever more forcefully we should quickly do things to make ourselves happy again. But sadness is not a problem to be solved, it is an emotion to experience. We seem to fear that giving way to sadness will create depression, but the opposite may be more true. There is a season for sadness. For many, that will be…..
Tiffany Sun documented her way of determining worth here, and her thesis is that she wants a metric that measures how much people create vs. consume every day. Yet, even granting how much is created vs. consumed could be a laudable metric compared to the average person’s way of assessing worth, consider: the greatest ideas do not always or even often come from pushing projects every day. They come while washing the car…or otherwise relaxing focus and standing back from…..
After Roger Williams founded Providence, John Winthrop wrote him a letter. John was still in Boston, staging a comeback from a failed election. Roger was banished from John’s town, and John while a friend had been one of the participants in getting Roger banished. By the time of the letter, most had given up on Roger ever recanting. John Winthrop had been help by Roger’s relationships with the natives local to Providence, and John was exploring potential ways to reward…..
A careful reading of Job confirms: Job’s questions of God, about why his heart is broken and why he must hurt so much and so long, are never straight-on answered. It is a dull thud in a moving book. Have you ever avoided an outright answer to a child? Wiggled around fully explaining why because they have not the context or experience yet to comprehend? Is that what God does? We do ask why. In day-to-day reality there is often…..
Much of the news from Puerto Rico(no electric, obstructed roads, lack of communication, challenges in organization when critical responders are themselves impacted) sounds like other neighborhoods after a major hurricane, but one thing does not. The water system is broken, and there is little fresh water. In a land where it rains almost every day, the system to provide fresh water is broken. Water is key to life-without it we live days not weeks. Water is key to health. Dirty…..
When Ronald Reagan was president I disagreed with some of his policies. However I came to admire his persistence in the face of criticism and his ability to move forward on his objectives, charming all around. We have a new entertainer for President. Even as a supporter of some of his policies, many times I don’t like what he says, often in tweets. However, his tweets raise a serious question. Does a President have a right to exercise free speech…..
A Guest post by Eli Inspirations Life can change so drastically It can happen in a blink Your world can be build one way Then just after you wink You open up your eyes And nothing it the same That’s just the way it is my friend Nothing is to blame We all share this in common That’s imminent throughout creation Is a life that’s filled with struggles Sudden changes and alterations There is change that happens gradually Or sometimes…..
Loved ones in a storm or other remote environment get separated from the rest of us, unable to touch base and communicate in real time. We aren’t used to it anymore…in this modern era we are used to being able to reach and touch whenever we please. And yet staying mindful of those apart has a long tradition expression in prayer, in letter writing, and in song. Oddly, more connection could lead to less lasting art. If we don’t long…..
Harvey reminds all of us we came with nothing, and may leave with nothing at any time. It is not in our control, modern deceptions to the contrary. How then shall we live? In an example of great tragedy producing a great good, a Harvey victim provides a role mode at age one and a half. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” Mark 10:16…..
I’m not talking about credit cards or loans. I am talking about credit for accomplishments. My corporate mentor taught that giving credit to others for work well done is unlimited, that giving credit does not diminish your own, and that it should be dished out liberally. This advice was given independent of the gender of the mentored worker. My mentor was male, and the strategy worked well for not only him but for many of us who worked for him……