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In the comfort and security of our lives, we sometimes forget the debt we owe to those who left behind their own comfort and security and paid the ultimate price that we might live free. When the United States entered World War I, David Endicott Putnam was a freshman at Harvard University. Too young to […]
A family gathers for dinner, and the father announces a new rule of etiquette: “No texting at the table.” Two teenagers sigh and reluctantly set aside their cell phones. Such a rule was not needed just a few years ago, but we live in a different world now. A steady stream of information swirls around […]
Mother Teresa, known the world over for her great compassion, was once asked what she considered the most significant honor she had ever received. There were many to choose from, including the Nobel Peace Prize. But she surprised her questioner when she replied, “The title of Mother.”1 No two mothers are alike, but they share […]
Something deep within us wants to connect with those who went before us: our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and other family members. When we know who they are—their life stories, their triumphs and failures, their strengths and weaknesses—we gain a better sense of who we are. In a sense, their stories become our stories. We not […]
Ella Wheeler Wilcox probably wrote from personal experience when she said: One great truth in life I’ve found, . . . The only folks we really wound Are those we love the best.1 It seems ironic, but it is true that by a careless word or a thoughtless or selfish act we do the most […]
“Humility is the realization that not everything that happens in life is all about you,” said Rabbi Harold Kushner. “True humility, grounded in a view of life that has taught us to keep in mind that we are not the only ones hurting, would have us think, All right, . . . things like this […]
A world-renowned anthropologist who spent several years among the natives of the upper Amazon in South America once described leading a rapid march through the jungle to the nearest settlement. The group pushed through the undergrowth for two days with great success, but the third morning, rather than preparing to start, the natives, it was […]
Home can be the most inviting place we know: the cozy place where we love, the warm place where we rest, the happy place where we laugh, the comforting place where we learn, the welcoming place where we know we really belong. In so many ways, home is more a feeling than a place. When […]
Anyone who has lived a few years has learned that life can change in an instant. One day all seems well and good, and then, the next day—the next instant—the whole world can change. Not long ago a family lived through one of those moments. A mother was driving in a snowstorm when another car, […]
A medical journal recently reported something that probably all of us have experienced: happiness is contagious. Tracking more than 4,700 people as part of a 20-year study, researchers found that “people pass on their good cheer [to others,] even to total strangers.”1 “Happiness is like a stampede,” a professor at Harvard and one of the […]
Throughout our lives we interact with many people who form their own opinions about us. But at the end of the day, we are alone with ourselves, deciding who we really are and who we really want to be. No matter our circumstances, we can choose to live honorably and compassionately—or not. We can choose […]
Henry J. Kaiser was a problem solver. Born to a German shoemaker in upstate New York, he eventually became the father of American shipbuilding. Along the way, he learned to see a problem not as a roadblock but as a chance to learn something or to create a new way of doing things. “Problems,” he […]
Deep contentment can come from choosing not to spend money that we don’t have. At first that seems obvious, but in a day when slick marketing campaigns entice us to define ourselves by what we purchase, it’s easy to see how people fall into the trap of “buy now, pay later.” Purchasing and consuming may […]
At some time in our lives, every one of us has been wounded by the actions or words of another. Those wounds can leave us brokenhearted, resentful, angry, and perhaps revengeful. To forgive such mistakes—or even intentional wrongdoing—is one of the hardest things we will ever do. But it can also lead to the sweetest […]
Abraham Lincoln believed that music can restore the soul. And during the turbulent years of his presidency, his soul often needed restoring. He regularly attended concerts, operas, and musical theater, seeking comfort and inspiration. A Civil War music scholar noted that President Lincoln “would not always listen to what was being played or even be […]
A long time ago, unknown artists came up with words and a melody that resound in our hearts today: He’s got the whole world in His hands. . . .He’s got the wind and the rain in His hands. . . .He’s got the little bitty baby in His hands. . . .He’s got you […]
An elderly woman was once asked the secret of her long, successful marriage. She said that when she first got married, she decided to make a list of 10 of her husband’s bad habits and promised to overlook them. When pressed about what those 10 habits were, she admitted, “I never got around to making […]
Society today is plagued by some deceptive practices of politicians, business leaders, the media, educators, and even law enforcement. Social schemes, shams, and fraud are rampant. We find ourselves wondering, “Whom can we trust?” But maybe an even better question is “Are we worthy of the trust of others?” Recently an executive of an international […]
Each of us has our own talents, our own abilities, and our own challenges. Sometimes it’s tempting to want to trade places with others, but it’s probably not wise. One family tries to remember this simple truth with a wall hanging, cross-stitched with a piece of Grandma’s wisdom: “If all of our problems were hung […]
Among life’s greatest blessings is the opportunity for second chances. A disobedient child says to his mother, “I promise I’ll do better next time” and “Can I try again?” We’ve probably all felt that way from time to time—we fall short, and we long for another chance, a fresh start, a new beginning. And while […]
Life is busy, but it’s good to take a moment occasionally to make sure it’s busy for the right reasons. Sometimes we may feel like a juggler trying to keep so many things aloft that he’s in constant danger of dropping all of them. With so many pressures and demands competing for our time and […]
When things go bad, can we really start over? When life takes a turn for the worse, can we actually begin again with hope that things will get better? After losing much of his life savings due to someone else’s mismanagement, one man said, “Starting over was tough, but if we didn’t try, we would […]
On Christmas Eve 1822, Catherine Elizabeth Moore was preparing food for the poor and discovered that she was short one turkey. It turned out to be a fortunate mistake, because as her husband rode in his carriage to the butcher’s, the bells jingling on his team of horses inspired him to pen a whimsical Christmas […]
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of […]
“Do You Hear What I Hear?” is one of the most beloved songs of the Christmas season. The story of this simple plea for peace begins, ironically, during World War II in war-torn France. Noel Regney was a young French musician who risked his life as a soldier in the French underground. The darkness and […]
During this busy time of year, we may find ourselves searching for the stillness of the first Christmas night. In search of that precious gift so silently given, we take small and sincere steps that can lead to a place of peace. With yearning hearts we travel to the little town of Bethlehem. One family […]
A few years ago, two researchers conducted what they called the Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness. They found through science what most of us know intuitively: gratitude makes people happy. For the study, several hundred people were divided into three groups and asked to keep diaries. The first group listed the day’s events in […]
We live in trying times. People are losing their jobs, their savings, even their homes. Others face personal tragedies of various kinds. Even if you aren’t currently facing tough times, you probably know someone who’s there right now. What do we need to bounce back, to cope with such adversity and uncertainties? We need each […]
Etched on the U.S. Navy Seabee Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, are words that resonate with every member of the military—past and present: “With willing hearts and skillful hands,The difficult we do at once;The impossible takes a bit longer “With compassion for othersWe build—we fight For peace with freedom” As a nation, we commemorate a special […]
Warren Buffet is one of the world’s richest men, but he doesn’t measure success by how much money he has accumulated. Now in his late 70s, Buffet lives frugally considering his great wealth and has pledged to give most of his fortune to charity. He seeks no buildings or monuments to his name. He has […]