Here’s a question for you. Are you trustworthy? To put it another way, can you keep a confidence? Did you answer honestly? If you ever repeat what you may have been told in confidence, then you are unreliable, and sooner or later that will become clear, and impinge on your personal relationships. I know that… Continue reading Confidences

There is certainly a lot of truth in this anonymous quote. Interestingly enough, it was this idea that helped to lead me to the true identity of my maternal grandfather. I had pretty much come to the conclusion that everything he ever said to my grandmother was a lie. And while it was DNA evidence… Continue reading Falsehoods

I know that there will be many who will disagree with this sentiment, but to me, true success has little to do with how much wealth you can amass, or how prestigious the positions you may hold. If you are only out for personal glory then you likely care little about honesty, or obeying the… Continue reading True Success

There is a relationship between knowledge and integrity. Both are important. It is when the two get out of balance that we see problems and difficulties. For example, if you have integrity you will resist pressure to do the wrong thing. Your conscience will not let you go along with something that you know in… Continue reading Integrity

So what is the difference between making a living and making a life? My opinion is that making a living equates to keeping yourself alive, while making a life is more like enjoying the things that you have. To live is to survive. In order to survive, you need to have a lot of resources,… Continue reading Living

This should not, of course, be taken too literally. I can live in an arctic environment just as well as I can a desert , or a tropical rain forest. What the author means, of course, is that the attitudes we have determine how we feel. My thoughts and beliefs may change over time as… Continue reading Environment

This is more of a paraphrase of something she said rather than a direct quote. Be that as it may, it does seem like something that can be fairly easily accepted. After all, if you feel inferior, uncertain, or nervous, it does not take much to reinforce those negative feelings. What is much harder is… Continue reading Inferiority

There seems some doubt as to whether Helen Keller is really the author of this quote. Regardless, it is still a profound idea. Light, of course, is often equated with goodness and happiness, while darkness and shadow are regarded as negative things. Facing the light of the sun we can see clearly our way forward,… Continue reading Face the Sunshine

This is another quote that seems to run counter to our intuition. But if you look at examples from life, it is interesting to to observe how people with similar experiences can end up with completely different results or outlooks. I am sure, for example, that the typical reaction to the death of a loved… Continue reading The Power of Forgiveness

And following on from the previous thought, Shaw  voices a very similar idea. After all, if you are prepared to do nothing more than complain that not enough is being done for you, what use are you? Ironically, even though such behavior does not lead to lasting satisfaction, the opposite is true for those who… Continue reading True Joy