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A few years ago, Dana Gioia, a commencement speaker at Stanford University, expressed his concern about a culture that, little by little, “trades off the challenging pleasures of art for the easy comforts of entertainment.” There’s little doubt that entertainment can be worthwhile, fun, an exciting. But when it’s over, entertainment very often leaves us […]
We are all familiar with the destruction that accompanies a hurricane. The high winds, heavy rains, and flooding often cause severe property damage and even loss of life. The chaos of evacuation before a hurricane and the human suffering in the aftermath make these storms among nature’s most frightening. A fascinating characteristic of hurricanes, however, […]
No one who was there for field day at Worthington, Ohio’s, Colonial Hills Elementary School will ever forget the great race. It wasn’t about who placed first or second; it was about grit, determination, support, and sensitivity. Among the eager fifth- and sixth-graders who lined up for the 400-meter event was Matt, who suffers from […]
Life is more satisfying and enjoyable when we chose to see the good in others. While we all have our share of shortcomings, there is in each of us an abundance of goodness to celebrate. Wise people choose to focus on others’ strengths rather than dwell on their weaknesses. Years ago, Sam Walter Foss wrote […]
Blessings from heaven surround us, but we must open our hearts to see them. Daily life can be so demanding, though, that we may not always notice how heaven is pouring out blessings and guiding our efforts. Hurrying from one commitment to the next, accomplishing one task after another, we seem to be much more […]
When we hear the word sacrifice, we usually think of a person giving up something of great value. Perhaps we picture an elderly man giving up his personal activities to care for his wife in her final years or a mother waking up in the middle of the night, sacrificing her well-deserved rest to comfort […]
All of us need someone who cares enough to tell us the truth. Even when the truth is not what we want to hear, it can help us learn and grow and become better. Years ago, a college student, brash and full of himself, worked as a teaching assistant for a legendary professor. One day […]
Not long ago, a family was feeling weighed down by the stress of life. No major problems—just the daily accumulation of demands on their schedule, decisions that needed to be made, and duties that never seemed to go away. It all began to drain their energy, tax their patience, and strain their relationships. Then they […]
The story is told of a devout young man whose car broke down, forcing him to make his way to his place of worship on foot. As he walked, he passed an area of startling poverty—where destitute people lined the streets, struggling to keep warm; troubled and angry individuals wandered the streets. The depressing scene […]
More than 1,600 years ago, St. Augustine is said to have taught this timeless truth: “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” Indeed, our willingness to work can make a big difference in life. A leader who worked for several years in a service organization with hundreds of […]
Not long ago, lines at a mortuary grew long as scores of people came to pay respects. In fact, the line of people grew so long that it was moved outside the mortuary and down the street. Who was the person whose life had touched so many? She was not a VIP—at least, not by […]
It’s easy to talk about forgiveness: about wanting to forgive, hoping to forgive, even knowing that someday we will need to forgive. It’s much more difficult to choose to forgive. But those who do find that this critical choice marks an important first step on the path to true healing. Such was the case with […]
For 217 years, Yarmouth, Maine, was home to New England’s largest American elm tree. Planted the year George Washington began his second term as president, “Herbie”—as the tree was affectionately called—grew under the watchful care of the city’s volunteer tree warden, Frank Knight, since the 1950s. But Knight was more than just a caretaker of […]
Of all the difficult things we do in life, one of the very hardest is to truly forgive someone who has mistreated us. Even when we know forgiving would make us happier, many of us cling to old hurts, unable to let go. Perhaps we close our hearts in this way because we think we […]
When someone asks you, “How are you doing?” how do you answer? It’s easy to respond to such a common greeting without giving any thought. But sometimes the way we answer this simple question can reveal much about the way we think about our lives. A prominent business and community leader, now well into his […]
More than 150 years ago, tens of thousands of pioneers crossed this country headed west. They were searching for a place of peace and refuge, a place to build a community of faith. Their stories are remarkable and heroic, filled with faith in every footstep. But many of them would not have survived the harrowing […]
The purpose of life is to learn and grow and become better. Surely, heaven will be filled not with those who never made mistakes but with those who recognized they were straying and made corrections to get back on course. And we have opportunities to do that throughout life.i Think how much better life could […]
President Abraham Lincoln led America through the ravages of the Civil War with dignity and grace. In his second inaugural address, as the South was collapsing in the last of the battles, Lincoln called for “malice toward none” and “charity for all.”i In essence, he spoke of showing kindness in the most difficult of circumstances. […]
A story set in the early 1800s tells of Philip Nolan, a young officer in the United States Army who gets caught up in a plot to overthrow the government. Convicted of treason, he swears in rash anger that he wishes never again to hear the words the United States of America. The judge decides […]
Finish each day and be done with it,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely.”1 Emerson reminds us that each new day is a gift, a new […]
The son of a renowned scientist recalls a powerful teaching moment that strengthened his relationship with his father. When the son entered college, the father encouraged him to follow in his footsteps and major in physics. One day the son was struggling with a complex mathematical problem and asked for his father’s help. They went […]
A traveler once pulled into a gas station and asked the attendant how far it was to the Grand Canyon. “About 170 miles” was the answer. “What’s it like there?” the traveler asked. “I don’t know. I’ve never been there,” the attendant answered. The traveler was shocked. “You mean to tell me you live this close […]
Family reunions help us reconnect with loved ones and remind us of what really matters. Reunions need not be extravagant affairs—they can be as simple as an afternoon in the park or a barbeque in the backyard. The food, decorations, program, and activities are not as important as the gathering itself: just getting together, remembering […]
To fallen soldiers let us sing Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing; Our broken brothers let us bring To the mansions of the Lord. . . . No more bleeding, no more fight; No prayers pleading through the night; Just divine embrace, eternal light In the mansions of the Lord.1 This stirring hymn was […]
What do you see and feel when you look around at this magnificent world? Do you see diverse colors, faces, landscapes, and seascapes? What do you learn from others who live in different cultures, use expressions you might not understand, and eat things you might not consider food? A nurse in the Far East stood […]
At the end of a long day, a busy mother sat down for what seemed like the first time since she got out of bed that morning. She was so exhausted she wanted to cry, but she didn’t even have the energy for that. She looked around the room and saw a day’s worth of […]
In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin tells of his strong desire to develop a worthy character. To do this, he made a list of the 12 virtues he most wanted to achieve and then came up with a systematic plan to practice each one. After learning of the plan, a friend suggested that he add one […]
In a hospital emergency room, a team of surgeons was urgently called. Four passengers in a car accident had just arrived by ambulance, and their injuries were life threatening. Running on adrenalin and focused on their demanding task, the doctors worked around the clock, mobilizing others around them to give all they had to save […]
New research affirms what most of us know from personal experience: positive thoughts and actions help both the giver and receiver feel better. Scientists call these “positive activity interventions,” though you might simply call them good deeds. They can be as simple as helping someone in need, showing some kindness, writing a thank you note, […]
A little bit of living teaches us that we often learn more from our setbacks than we do from our successes. Not long ago, Dr. Benjamin Carson, noted professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, encouraged university students to learn from the past. He pointed out that heart transplants, kidney transplants, and other such […]