Both wisdom and happiness are developed and demonstrated by the ability to see beauty in the ordinary and even in the ugly. – Michael Josephson
Changes: Courage, Wisdom & Serenity
God, give us grace to accept with serenity that things cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from.
Leaving Things Undone
Besides the noble art of getting things done, there’s the noble art of LEAVING THINGS UNDONE. The wisdom of life consists in the ELIMINATION OF NON-ESSENTIALS. – Lin Yutang
VIDEO: Kintsukuroi – The Art of Repairing
“Nietzsche told us ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’ and Hemingway wrote about becoming stronger in broken places. A different way of thinking is found in the Japanese concept of kintsukuroi the art of repairing broken pottery with gold or silver lacquer in a way that makes the object more beautiful than it was before. I think this is …
Life never stops teaching. Be sure you never stop learning.
Improve your life through continuous self-conscious reflection. You’ll never stop growing if you never stop learning. As we get older life changes, we change. We can delay, but not completely avoid, physical deterioration but we can avoid stagnation and intellectual and emotional atrophy by committing ourselves to conscious and continuous learning and growth. There are lessons in every experience – the …
Commentary: INTELLECTUAL HUMILITY AND THE PURSUIT OF WISDOM. “Don’t believe everything you think.”
INTELLECTUAL HUMILITY AND THE PURSUIT OF WISDOM. “Don’t believe everything you think.” This is a reminder of the need to be as rigorously honest, informed and objective about our own ideas as we are when we evaluate those of others. Wisdom requires courage and humility to receive and consider new facts, opinions and perspectives, even when they challenge long …
Three Perspectives on Maturity
Maturity is the ability to stick with a job until it’s finished; to do a job without being supervised; to carry money without spending it. – Ann Landers Everyone Grows Older. Some Attain Maturity. A Few Become Wise. It’s what you do with the experiences that come with growing older that makes all the difference. Michael Josephson Maturity is being able to …
Don’t Look So Hard at my Past
Some people will always see us as we were rather than who we are and more importantly who we are becoming. Some people see themselves as they were, not who they are, and more importantly, who they are becoming and who they can become. Some people live in their past, others are content to learn from it. Aging is inevitable; …
COMMENTARY: Are You Wiser Today Than Yesterday? Things I’ve Learned
Do you think you’re any wiser today than you were five years ago? Do you think you’ll be wiser still in another five years? I hope the answer to both
Change, Serenity & Wisdom
God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it’s me. -unknown
COMMENTARY: Launching the New Year with a Commitment to be Self-Consciously Reflective
Expanding on the theme that the best way to improve your life and have an exceptionally successful and fulfilling New Year is to increase your wisdom and optimism, I urge you not to just skim this essay but to take some serious reflection time to answer these questions: What did you learn last year that will help you become wiser …
WORTH READING: Get Smarter! Start the New Year With the Five Best Books I Read in 2011. What books are on your list?
Here are the best five books I’ve read this year. They are so good they are all on my top-ten of all-time list. In the comment section please share the names of the best books you’ve read this year and if you are willing add a sentence or two on what you found so good about each book. The Happiness Hypothesis by …
OBSERVATION: Giving Advice
Observations about advice: 1) Proverb: “To be successful is to follow the advice you give to others.” Why are we so much smarter, more sensible, and stronger when we are dealing with problems of others? 2) Samuel Coleridge: “Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.” Giving …