Possibly no other single issue molds our life more than whether we feel people are basically good, or not. Scholars have spent lifetimes theorizing, arguing, defending, and attacking this question from all sides. There really is no need for any of us to spend the next decade researching whether the evidence points more convincingly towards […]

There are countless myths that we have heard, or used, or espoused so many times that we think they are actually true. One of the most pernicious and dangerous of these is that fairness is real; that fair exists. It really doesn’t matter your life philosophy, religion, paradigm, or orientation, fair is not real. Hurricane

There are a handful of really great ideas that seem so painfully obvious once we “get” them. Unfortunately, for many of us, these great ideas are never learned, or at a minimum are learned late in life. These ideas have to be handed down from one fortunate person to another. Often these life lessons slip

For most of us, it is all in our mind. Our happiness, sense of self-worth, future success, and even our health, is all in our mind. Literally, effectively, basically, nothing else matters or even exists. Why is the stock market up or down? Why am I lying on the couch with pink eye as I

It is dangerous and presumptive and utterly useless to judge. Most importantly, this applies to judging ourselves. I catch myself judging me all the time. It really doesn’t even mater if the judgement is putting me in a better light than is true or a dimmer light. Judging is a deceptively dangerous door to the

Most of us are not aware of this, but we are either trying to maximize happiness or minimize unhappiness, as a general orientation towards life. And, the two are very different. However, there really is no need to spend any more time than necessary playing defense in life. Life is meant to be lived on

Many shrink in fear at this over-used expression. For many, going through life with a “lottery ticket” philosophy is all they can muster, all that they feel they need. To those I exclaim Hallelujah! What a gift—what an unexpected joy! Those fortunate to really “get” this concept, able to peel back the torn dirty wrappings

This is one of the most freeing realizations possible. This tiny insight is worth the price of admission all by itself. The day that we learn this, breathe this in, and accept this as truth is the day we stop worrying. The day we stop worrying is the day we start living and loving and

This lesson is all about keeping things in perspective, or to look at the glass as half full. My teenage daughter would equally effectively snap back half under her breath “…first world problems”. This is a lesson that I remind myself of as often as I can. I find it especially helpful on days when