We are all part of our society – benefitting and struggling within the system we share. We might think of ourselves as isolated from the rest of the world, but our lives are entwined – connected to the world through our supply chain of food and materials, and to people around the world through our… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Trying hard
Don’t Forget About the Price Tag
In her cheerful yet poignant song, Price Tag, Jessie J helps shine some light on our society's obsession with money. In an age of endless encouragement to buy things, it is refreshing to hear a musical artist reminding us there are simpler, priceless aspects of life. Teaming up with American rapper B.o.B. and producer Dr… Continue Reading
Willpower – It’s about starting not finishing
The concept of willpower shows up when we become aware that our actions are under our own control. As small children we spend a lot of time playing and eating, with small interruptions for mandatory activities like bathing and sleeping. As we grow, we have additional duties, including helping at home, grooming ourselves, and going… Continue Reading
Nickel and Diming our Lives
We're a society that explores things — that tries things out. Some things cost a lot, some things are cheap, and some things seem to be free. Tucked into many of the things we use and buy are transaction costs — hidden costs that are added on. Whether it's putting gas in the car (which… Continue Reading
Seeing the Good in it
I was with friends last night, and we heard a strange popping sound in the kitchen. We looked up, wondered, then continued talking. Another popping sound had us suggesting that the ice maker might be dropping ice cubes on the ground. But when two more quick pops occured our host headed to the kitchen and… Continue Reading
The Bakery of Life and Love
I came upon some images of heart-shaped cookies and a cookie-cutter image of a person with outstretched arms. It reminds me that even though each of us is unique – with our own decisions and life journey – that we value the same good and basic ingredients: love, peace, freedom, harmony, joy, music and community.… Continue Reading
Redemption Song
A global music effort is underway by a diverse group of musicians and singers known as Playing For Change. Their videos, available on YouTube, are a wonderful collection of memorable songs played in very personal contributions from locations around the world. The musicianship is outstanding, and the overall feeling is of shared truths and personal… Continue Reading
One Good Step
One of the most important milestones in a person's life is when we learn to walk. This usually happens around 14 months of age (not at "one year" as the round-things-off folks tend to say to worried young Moms). While crawling lets us move around the room a bit, it was only when we started… Continue Reading
The strength around us
We see fire hydrants every day, fortunately not often in use. But there they stand, along our route and near our homes — silent, patient reminders of our shared commitment to safety and community. The fire hydrant, or "fire plug", dates back to the 1600s, when fire crews would prepare a water source by digging… Continue Reading
Trying Hard – Still a Key to Life
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