29Aug 2013 by CJ

Do you really have any problems, or are they just an inconvenience?

Life & Living
Problem (noun): a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome. Inconvenience (noun): trouble or difficulty caused to one’s personal requirements or comfort. (From oxforddictionaries.com) The human race is notorious for magnifying what essentially is nothing more than an “inconvenience” and identifying it as a “problem”. Classifying them as such allows us, many times subconsciously, to overdramatize a situation – creating undo stress for ourselves, while often driving those around us crazy with our obsessive worrying. Here’s a prime example of what I’m talking about. My wife and I recently decided it was time to start looking for a new home – and in doing so accept the burden that often comes along with such a life-changing decision. It’s been 11 years…
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28Aug 2013 by CJ

The most important qualities of a person cannot be seen

Life & Living, Youth
It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down to enjoy the wonderment of children’s literature. I suppose as we grow older and the world of far-off, fairy tale lands are tainted by reality, our need and believability in such fiction disappears. As we continue to age, I think our power to dream, hope and imagine decreases. Perhaps this is one of the many reasons why children’s literature is no longer applicable to adults – as we’re not always able to suspend our disbeliefs. And while the book, The Little Prince, which was written by Antoine De Saint-Exupery in 1943, was first conceived as a children’s story, it has come to be loved by adults all over the world – and I’m one of them. I was first introduced to…
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27Aug 2013 by CJ

Start your morning off right and it will carry you the rest of the day

Generosity & Kindness, Life & Living
My mornings typically involve some moderate exercising and a simple breakfast, before preparing myself for my 9 to 5 workday. Some people enjoy starting their day watching morning news programs. But for me all they do is make me anxious – not really the way I want to start out a long day of work. Today when I turned on the TV, one of those news programs was on – no doubt from a television station we were watching the previous night. In an effort to further educate myself about the goings-on in the world, I figured I’d take a few minutes to be an active viewer. War and violence, uncontrollable wild fires, the possibility of another financial crisis – and that was just in the first five minutes! I…
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23Aug 2013 by CJ

Marriage shouldn’t be a chore, but a gift

Love & Relationships
I guess one could say that my wife and I are an “old married couple” now. It’s been 12 years since we exchanged our vows in a garden ceremony, on a sunny Spring afternoon. And while a lot has changed since then, not only in the world but in our lives, our relationship seems to grow stronger as the year’s progress – regardless of the challenges that come along the way. Unlike many of my male counterparts, I don’t view marriage as a burden – a prison sentence which forces you to relinquish who you were before you said “I do”. I look at it as a pairing of two souls – an intimate connection, which often can’t be described, defined or understood by those outside the relationship. In truth…
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20Aug 2013 by CJ

People living with disabilities are not the ones who are disabled

Information & Education, Life & Living, Youth
What’s happening to the human race? When did we all become so jaded – lacking the ability to be compassionate, empathetic and unselfish in a world filled more with divides than unison? When I was first told of the following news stories, I convinced myself there must be some mistake. While I’m not naïve to the biases our great nation harbors towards each other, I couldn’t imagine this one being factual – but it is. The two stories below left me incredibly angry and even sad at the complete lack of consideration we have for those living in our local communities and ultimately in the world. Judge for yourself: “The Giesegh family of Colorado says their neighbors are asking them to take down the handicap ramp outside their door, belonging…
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