Augustine on Television and the Movies Augustine was an African Christian who lived from 354-430. So, of course, he never owned a television or watched a movie. However, in his book, Confessions, he says that around the age of sixteen, “I developed a passion for stage plays” (likely Greek tragedies). His observations about the pull of the plays upon his own … Continue reading “Augustine on Television and the Movies”
The Power of Practiced Indifference Here’s a fact for you today. – You can’t care about everything in the world without driving yourself insane. You can’t be emotionally invested in every person’s sob story or every issue that comes across your path. It’s impossible. Over the years the concept of indifference has taken on a negative connotation. Why? Because everyone … Continue reading “The Power of Practiced Indifference”
The “Worn Out Class” Knows A Few Things Are you getting to that age where you feel “worn out”? Maybe you passed that milestone a few years back. Around the age of 65, Lucious Seneca, a first-century Roman philosopher and statesman, said: “You may rate me in the worn-out class of those that are nearing the end.” Maybe you can relate to Seneca’s … Continue reading “The “Worn Out Class” Knows A Few Things”
The Tricky Turkey Holiday Well, here in Canada we just survived another Thanksgiving weekend. For those of you in the USA, you’re going to have to wait a while to be thankful. And that’s the point of our talk today. The tricky thing about having a holiday where we are supposed to be thankful is that it somehow frees … Continue reading “The Tricky Turkey Holiday”
Why Early Success Can Lead to Unhappiness We all have a natural inclination toward something – whether it’s gardening, music, crafts, carpentry, etc. So, we take off on a quest to get better at that “one thing.” And, depending on our innate abilities in that area, we can get ahead of ourselves and create unintentional unhappiness. How? By skipping steps. The better … Continue reading “Why Early Success Can Lead to Unhappiness”
Happiness Comes From Knowing You Have to Give it All Back We’re coming into the fall here in Cape Breton, and I’m sitting in a park writing, watching the leaves fall off the trees. The trees have worked since spring to grow those leaves, now they have to let the leaves go. To keep the leaves throughout the harsh storms of the next seasons would be … Continue reading “Happiness Comes From Knowing You Have to Give it All Back”
The Truth About Reconciliation Today is the first day of a new national holiday for Canada, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In the words of parliament, “this day honors the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities.” While it remains to be seen what impact a national holiday will have on the ongoing … Continue reading “The Truth About Reconciliation”
How Acknowledging Your Mortality Helps You Be Happy Marcus Pacuvius was a Greek poet who lived from about 220-130 BC. He nearly singlehandedly carried on the tradition of the Greek tragic plays during his lifetime. But the thing for which he may be most remembered is his daily funeral. Yes, you read that right – daily funeral. Each day he would have a … Continue reading “How Acknowledging Your Mortality Helps You Be Happy”
Building Mental Toughness Legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi, said, “Mental toughness is spartanism with qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication. It is fearlessness, and it is love.” In his book “The Mental Toughness Handbook” Damon Zahariades states that “mental toughness is our durability in the face of adversity.” Here’s the truth. Any fool can act tough when everything is … Continue reading “Building Mental Toughness”
Look Across the River Before You Wade Into It There may be nothing worse than walking into a situation blindly with no firm grasp on who is there, what they want, and what it’s all about. Our happiness often takes a hard hit from somewhere out in left field when we don’t do our homework before we enter unfamiliar territory in our lives. Let’s … Continue reading “Look Across the River Before You Wade Into It”