Lost in the marketing maelstrom of our culture is an eternal truth: that life is hard and requires us to try hard. It doesn't matter how many songs we have on our iPod, how many friends we have on Facebook, or how many dollars we have in the bank — without an understanding of our… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Inspirational
Our Society’s Toughest Commandment (#10)
One of the main characteristics of our North American society is its focus on money and entertainment. Everywhere we look there are opportunities and offers of services, goods to buy, and recreation. Advertising blitzes us continuously, mostly portraying smiling, beautiful people sharing a good time and taking possession of something they really want. And if… Continue Reading
Waiting Long – a poem for moving on
I recently attended a party held outdoors in farming country. Near the road was an old piece of farm machinery, slowly rusting. I wrote this poem for what is past and unchangeable: Waiting long: For men to bind me to their task. For sun and wind and dirt and grass. For purposed motion past that… Continue Reading
The purpose of technology is community
Perhaps the most apparent feature of our society is our use of technology. Whether it is cell phones, high def TV, MRI scanners or air bags, technology surrounds us and is embedded into our lives. Everywhere you go you see people using devices — if there's a gizmo then people are using it. There is,… Continue Reading
The New Glory Days – Pruning back former glory to find new joy
One of my favorite summer flowers is the garden geranium, with its beautiful, summer-long color. It is the type of flower that you can count on, week after week, month after month. With only a bit of watering, and some essential pruning, they will continue to make your life brighter. Growing up, our family hung… Continue Reading
Climb the Right Mountain
"It takes as much work to climb the wrong mountain as it does the right mountain," says Brian Warren, the Founder of KidsFest. In the same way that KidsFest helps low-income children achieve their full potential, each of us needs a reawakening, and a fresh commitment to truly living our lives. In our busy world… Continue Reading
The Olympic flame is within us
As the 2010 Winter Olympics come to a close, wonderful memories and a sense of encouragement remain from our shared experience of Vancouver and Whistler, BC. Athletes and administrators, volunteers and fans, families and global friends — we all came together to honour excellence and commitment. While I enjoyed the excitement of the competitions, it… Continue Reading
Something you CAN take with you
We have all heard the saying “You can’t take it with you.” The saying is very old, though not as old as the Egyptian pharaohs, who stocked their pyramid burial chambers with lots of goodies for the next world. The pharaohs thought of themselves as gods, so if they wanted to bring some golden cats… Continue Reading
Hearing and saying “I appreciate you”
Our world depends on a lot of people getting things done. We all have our roles and our tasks, and every day has more than enough to do. And swirling through our days are people. Some of them we see every day, like those we work with. Some people we only see for a minute,… Continue Reading
A better life in Barbie-land
One of the best-selling toys our culture has produced is the ever-pretty Barbie, by Mattel. As the father of a former young daughter, I have experienced first-hand the playing, dressing and accessories that Barbie brings to our world. It was a positive time of fun as well as social exploration and learning. When my daughter… Continue Reading