Category: Generosity & Kindness

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." – Winston Churchill. Around this time of year, my wife and I often remind each other how fortunate we are, from the most simplistic circumstances to the favorable conditions that provide us with comfort, security, affection, nourishment, and calm. It's worth noting that our lives are not devoid of unexpected challenges, personal distresses, and at times, loneliness for those cherished individuals who are no longer part of this earthly life. Unfortunately, the holidays tend to amplify that loneliness as we all yearn for the celebratory occasions of holidays past. But every year, just as I'm about to become consumed by crippling thoughts of where my personal and professional lives are deficient, I'm given the…

The following quote is as overused as a smiley-faced emoji. It is often attributed to many prominent individuals throughout history – including Albert Einstein – though no one knows for sure who actually said it. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." While I can understand one's frustration given its overuse in popular society, it's popular for a reason – providing a sort of roadmap on how we can best utilize our limited time here on Earth. Simply put, the quote above encourages us to remember that there comes a point in everyone's life when expecting different results from individuals and circumstances is naïve and should be better aligned with reality. In our romantic, plutonic, familial, and even professional relationships, we…

I'm rarely a reader of fiction. While I've certainly enjoyed it in the past, I now find myself drawn to non-fiction works focusing on a variety of societal issues with the belief that if I educate myself more, I'll somehow find hope in the hopelessness of life. Angered by my last read, of which the title now escapes me, my wife suggested Olive Kitteridge – a work of fiction she enjoyed and thought I might as well. In desperate need of a change in my literary themes, I figured there was no harm in giving it a try. To my surprise, this well-written novel by Elizabeth Strout was impactful, inspiring, and realistic to the point that the reader could genuinely empathize with the characters and their situations. Such a work…

Today's generation of children believes that being a winner - being #1 - is one of the most important personal characteristics they can strive towards.  Humility, unfortunately, is not a word they use or apply in their interactions with others. Instead, they've based their self-worth and perceived successes on overconfidence, which includes always being a winner, on never making a mistake that would topple them from the throne of being #1. Many children now lack the social-emotional skills to cope with losing - even among family or friends. And when they are, in fact, the legitimate winner of a game, contest, or other competitive circumstance, they take great satisfaction in making sure they flaunt their achievement to the losing party with an unappealing dose of arrogance.  To be valuable and…