Category: Life & Living

Pain is real - something I was reminded of when I was flipping through a desk calendar. A friend of mine purchased a calendar for me last year - filled with quotations from Eckhart Tolle, the author of the best-selling book The Power of Now. Each month is filled with beautiful photography of natural landscapes, but more importantly an inspirational passage from the widely respected teacher regarding how living in the "Now" is the truest path to happiness and enlightenment. If you have the chance, the book is worth the read. I was particularly moved by October's excerpt. "The greater part of human pain is unnecessary. It is self-created as long as the unobserved mind runs your life. The pain that you create now is always some form of nonacceptance,…

People have very strong opinions for or against taxing the rich more than your average ordinary citizen. I myself am not sure that taxing the rich is the answer to all of our fiscal problems, but from a logistical and mathematical standpoint it just doesn't make much sense to me. I mean how could you tell a family of four, with a combined income of under $50,000 a year, that they will pay the same tax rate as those earning $1,000,000 or more? Even if you’re fortunate enough to be a part of such an elite group, does that really mean it’s fair? And while Governor Christine of New Jersey and most of the Republicans in Washington continue to protect their wealthy friends and neighbors, one unexpected person recently made…

The other day I was watching an episode of the always comical 1950’s sitcom I Love Lucy, and realized just how different the roles of men and women truly were. Lucy wasn’t speaking to Ricky because, as always, he wouldn’t let her be in the show. After realizing she hadn’t prepared his breakfast that morning, he stormed into the bedroom and demanded she get up and fix him something to eat like a drill sergeant in the military. I could only imagine what my wife would have to say if I barked such orders at her early in the morning. The days of the men being the dominant figure in a household are over for the most part. Today, women have their own careers outside the home – some working…

Take a look at your own life and ask yourself, what or who is on my priority lists? Our  lives seem filled to capacity with a plethora of errands, chores and  commitments which often pull us in different directions — robbing us of  the more memorable moments life has to offer. In short we  prioritize our lives based upon what we believe to be important and  inadvertently forget about the people we always assume will be around when our priority lists are finally complete. It’s funny how our priority lists seem to focus so much on taking care of responsibilities, yet pay  little attention to taking care of the people who provide our lives with  meaning. Imagine turning off the television and tuning out all  distractions to interact with that…