The Power of Solitude

Solitude is a key ingredient to sobriety. If you don’t believe that, let me ask you a question. If you could pick one place to spend a few hours, would you pick: (a) mountain, (b) lake, (c) ocean, or (d) downtown in a large city? If you picked (d), you’re crazy! Jesus embraced solitude. The…

A Lesson in Forgiveness

In 1956, five American missionaries headed to the rainforest of the eastern Amazon in Ecuador to make a second visit to the isolated Huaorani tribe. The people had a culture of killing, and studies suggest that 54 percent of the tribe died by homicide. When the missionaries emerged from their plane, they were immediately speared…

Katrina

On this date in 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Florida coast. Yes, the Florida coast. It was a weak Category 1 hurricane. No big deal by Florida standards. What no one knew at the time was that Katrina was just getting started. Within a few short days, she blew up into a rare…

The Day that Changed History

If you think you can count on tomorrow, consider the story of the 25th president of the United States. President William McKinley was known for wearing a red carnation on his lapel for good luck. On September 6, 1901, while greeting a crowd in Buffalo, New York, the president gave a little girl his lucky…

Criticism

Jack Handley said, “Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.” I have often found that what we criticize in others, we generally find in ourselves. Oscar Wilde said it like this: “Criticism…

M&Ms

On the eighth day, God created M&Ms.  Okay, that may be a bit of a stretch. But M&Ms are almost too good to have been created by man. Do you know why they are called M&Ms? The creators named their candy after themselves: Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie. Mars was a wealthy businessman who created…

Making Progress

Pablo Casals was considered the greatest cellist who ever lived. When he was 95 years of age, someone asked him why he continued to practice his cello six hours every day. His response? “Because I think I am making progress.” I have a friend who got sober – at the age of 93.  It is…

When Cleveland Was 5th

Things change with time. For example, did you know that the fifth largest city in the United States, 100 years ago, was Cleveland, Ohio? Today, Cleveland ranks as America’s 54th largest city. Cleveland is now smaller than Wichita, Aurora, Tulsa, Omaha, and Mesa.  Everything changes with time. With age, most of us get shorter and…

An Impossible Task

If you want to try something that is nearly impossible, try this. Try to overstate the importance of community.  Good luck with that.  Therapist Elizabeth Dixon writes, “Our relationships, more than anything else, set the stage for our health, happiness, and well-being. Research indicates that the quality of our social relationships affects a range of…

Self-Worth vs Net Worth

Never judge your self-worth by your net worth.  Men tend to draw their self-esteem from their jobs, women from their relationships. So this whole net worth thing is mostly (but not totally) a guy problem. It’s okay to have things and it’s okay to enjoy them. But don’t be so tied to what you have…