An exercise in silence is hard for many to do

Life & Living
Here’s a personal exercise you should definitely try, from everyone’s favorite neighbor, Mister Rogers. Go ahead, try it…you might be surprised how difficult it really is. “Here’s a gift you may not have expected. It’s a gift for you to give yourself. Sometime in your day today, try to turn off all the noises you can around you, and give yourself some “quiet time.” In the silence, let yourself think about something. Or if possible…think about nothing.” Sounds simple doesn’t it? But we’ve become a society that simply cannot function without continual audible distractions. It’s almost as if the noise in our lives serves as a kind of coping mechanism to cover up reality. I mean what other reason would people have for finding it so incredibly difficult to have…
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Edison did more than simply discover the light bulb

Information & Education, Life & Living
Many would characterize Thomas Alva Edison as an ingenious inventor – holding 1,093 U.S. patents for such creations as the phonograph and most notably the electric light bulb. The life of an inventor is riddled with disappointments - sometimes requiring dozens, even hundreds of failed attempts before finally attaining success. But Edison refused to let failure define his life’s work. So instead he lived under the simple belief that anything was achievable with a little persistence and a lot of elbow grease. He once joked, “I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2,000-step process”. Obviously Edison was a card carrying member of the “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” club. But his life’s practices and optomisitc attitude are far from easy to apply in…
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The Giving Tree – Something for EVERYONE to learn regardless of age

Information & Education, Life & Living, Youth
At first I was a little confused when my wife gave me a children’s book called "The Giving Tree" to read. Was she trying to tell me something, I thought. Turns out it was a book she first read and fell in love with back in a college literature class. “The Giving Tree,” written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein, was released in 1964 and is still popular today – even though its meaning continues to be the subject of debate. Some readers felt the story was too depressing, supporting codependency and selfish behavior. One blogger even said he’d read the book over 60 times and still wasn’t sure what the author was trying to say. That’s a little extreme for a book of simple line drawings and a sprinkling of…
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Growing older is not something you should feel bad about

Life & Living, Youth
With the exception of teenagers who can’t wait to become full-fledged adults (why I’m still not sure) many of us aren’t really that tickled about growing older. I myself felt a little blindsided this year when after blowing out my birthday candles I realized I was 36 years old. That means I’m in my mid to late 30’s! How the hell did that happen and where in God’s name did all these gray hairs come from? I suppose I should be thankful there’s still anything up there at all, right? But even though I’m growing older, I’ve made a conscious decision not to fight it and become one of those people who spends much of their time and money trying to find a fountain of youth that simply doesn’t exist.…
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Husbands, listen to your wives as they sometimes have the answers you don’t

Life & Living, Love & Relationships
It’s funny how one household project usually opens a HUGE can of worms. It's also a time to reiterate to husbands, listen to your wives. A few months ago we gave our kitchen a minor face lift - paint, lighting, furniture, decorations, you know the drill. And once we were done the room was all nice and sparkly – however the rest of the house wasn’t. And so began the process of repainting, removing and redecorating pretty much every room in our house. Nine years had passed, so I guess it was time. This past weekend it was the bathroom upstairs. How hard could a tiny room like that be right? Patching up a few divots and cracks in the sheet rock was a no brainer, painting the walls and…
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