But to successfully face those challenges, you need to know yourself and the opposition you face, and be prepared to grow and adapt
In the classic book The Art of War, Sun Tzu teaches about far more than war. He also teaches some of the key elements of a joyful and meaningful life. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the…
You must first learn to respond positively to negative situations – embrace your willpower
It’s said that successful people aren’t those without problems, they’re simply those who deal effectively with their problems. This is an easy claim to make but what does it really mean? Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, tells us that between stimulus and response there’s a gap and it’s…
The key is not to run away from life but to embrace every challenge, to find its meaning and the lesson it offers
There’s a medieval legend about an alchemist who discovers how to turn common materials into gold. Of course, we know that adding a piece of the philosopher’s stone to molten lead will not turn it into gold, yet the story provides a beautiful metaphor for life. If we look at the life of any great…
Author James Allen tells us to embrace purity, patience, humility, self-sacrifice, self-reliance, fearlessness, knowledge, wisdom, compassion and love
We all face challenges, times when we feel like the bottom has fallen out and nothing makes sense. While it may be tempting to give in to vengeful thoughts and actions, teachings developed in every culture point to the same principles. As we live by these ideals, life finds a way of sorting itself out.…
Canadians need to be reminded that conflicts and human tragedies sometimes come perilously close to home
Wise politicians realize that the people, also known as taxpayers, are always concerned about how their money is spent by government. The cost of a policy, program or item can be large or small, but every penny – or nickel, in this era – must be used responsibly and prudently. This brings us to the…
If we can be ‘enlightened witnesses’ and listen without judgment, we can help the healing process
Much of the study of genocide has focused on how it happens and what it looks like. This is important but perhaps we need to go further. What do people go through after these crimes have been committed? What happens to children? There are many amazing books written by survivors of genocide: Viktor Frankl’s Man’s…
Amidst acts of nationalism and racism, it can be difficult to see the fundamental goodness of humanity – but it’s there
Nov. 9 marked 80 years since Kristallnacht, loosely translated as “the Night of the Broken Glass.” On this horrendous night, rampaging Nazis destroyed Jewish businesses, synagogues, homes and other properties in what was then German territory. There were many deaths and arrests of innocent people in this precursor to the Holocaust. It would nice to…If we’re to rid the world of this horrendous theft of innocence, we need to approach it the same way we approached the Holocaust
In the song Sympathy for the Devil, the Rolling Stones repeat several times, “Pleased to meet you. Hope you guessed my name. But what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game.” In essence, the Stones are talking about the nature of evil and our relation to it. We see it but we often don’t…
Even in the depths of suffering, there is still reason to hope for the future. Even if we are in despair today, we can embrace the joys of the past
Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, “It’s the great mystery of human life that old grief passes gradually into quiet tender joy.” It should be no surprise that the writings of Dostoyevsky had a profound influence on Viktor Frankl, the Austrian Jewish psychiatrist, as he faced life in Nazi concentration camps. Dostoyevsky endured horrendous suffering in…
By living lives of integrity, by doing our best despite our imperfections, we find a way to move forward
When saying goodbye to people, I’ll often add: “And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” While I’ve always been aware this phrase was giving people something significant to ponder, I didn’t know its history. It’s actually attributed to Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher. In 1994, Jon Kabat-Zinn expanded on this idea in…