Kindness

There Are a Lot of Kind People Out There

I have come across several articles that say kindness is a lost art. So, I decided to test this notion as I went about my daily business. That morning as I attempted to enter the freeway, a driver slowed down and let me cut in front of him. When I got to Lowe’s to buy…

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom - Available from Amazon.com

Giving to Others is What Makes Us Feel Truly Alive

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. is a true story about Mitch paying weekly visits to his old college professor, Morrie Schwartz, who is dying from Lou Gehrig’s Disease. During these visits, Morrie passes on some wonderful life lessons from the perspective of a dying man. At one point, he said, “Why do you think…

This is easy to do, and the choice is yours.

How You Make Others Feel Says a Lot About Who You Are

This is the first half of a quote that a friend of mine posted on Facebook. What this means is that the way you make others feel after they’ve interacted with you is your trademark—the distinguishing characteristic of how you become known. As Maya Angelou put it, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you…

List

10 Things You Don’t Need to Apologize for

​The website happy-whole.com posted the following list of things you don’t need to apologize for. I couldn’t argue with any of them, so I’m passing them on to you. If you have any things you’d like to add to the list, please send them to me. Loving someone Saying “no” Following your dreams Taking “me”…

The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner - Available from Amazon.com

How to Add an Extra 12 Years to Your Life

Since the 1990s, longevity expert and author, Dan Buettner, has been traveling with teams of researchers to areas around the world where people live the longest. His teams have studied how lifestyle and environment impact the length of people’s lives. According to an article which appeared in USA Today, “Buettner says that while a strong…

Taking Risks is Part of the Good Life

​ Many people prefer comfort of security over the excitement of taking risks. They would rather sit inside the safety of their comfort zones and watch the world go by. As a result, they miss out on much of the good life. Blind and deaf American author and political activist Helen Keller understood this well.…

Happy and In-happy people

A Very Important Difference Between Happy and Unhappy People

​One of my daughters recently emailed a quote to me that read, “Happy people are those who continuously evaluate and improve themselves. Unhappy people are those who continuously evaluate others.” What this means is that happy people are focused on personal growth–trying and learning new things, going to new places and making new friends. For…

Dreams

Insights for Making Your Dreams Come True

​ All of us have dreams, but not everyone’s dream comes true.  The question is, why?  The song, When You Wish Upon a Star provides two important insights necessary to answer this question.  First, as the song says, “When your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.”  Having your heart in your…

Wrench - Fixing

Mend the Part of the World that is Within Your Reach

​ There’s so much in our world that needs fixing that it’s easy to become overwhelmed and wonder if it’s actually possible for us to make a difference. My wife sent me the following quote from Clarissa Pinkola Estes which deals with this very thought: “Anything you do from the soulful self will help lighten…