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Train More, Try Less
“No, try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” (Master Yoda) [Of course I’m using a Star Wars quote today. And probably tomorrow. This is not just because the most anticipated movie of the last decade finally arrives in theaters today; it’s also because Yoda’s Buddhist-flavored wisdom is actually very ScreamFree.] Give it […]
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Tunnel Vision
“Unhappiness in a child accumulates because he sees no end to the dark tunnel. The thirteen weeks of a term might just as well be thirteen years.” (Graham Greene) When your baby screams in your arms, your toddler thrashes on the floor, or your teen slams the door, it would help to remember this quote. […]
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Dance Madly
The enemy for the fanatic is pleasure, which makes it extremely important to continue to indulge in pleasure. Dance madly. That is how you get rid of terrorism. (Salmon Rushdie) Amidst all the reactivity about religion, immigration, and terror, a bit of advice from a man who’s been on a radical Islamist hit list for […]
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Who Do You Work For?
“A man’s biggest mistake is to believe that he’s working for someone else.” (Nashua Cavalier) If you didn’t “have to” go to work today, would you? If you didn’t “have to” do what your boss wants, would you? If you didn’t “have to” stay faithful to your spouse, would you? If you didn’t “have to” […]
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Reveal Your Heart
“The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.” (Benjamin Franklin) Speaking (or texting) quickly is easy, common, and almost always reactive. Pausing, breathing, and revealing your heart is hard, rare, and almost always beneficial.
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TBT: Hearing Aids for Our Children
“People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. ” (Rabbi Edwin Friedman, Family Therapist) As parents, we think we have to say all the right things in order for our children to learn right from wrong. So we chase after […]
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The Either/And
“Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” (Steve Jobs) As leaders of our families, we walk a precarious line between establishing high standards for our kids on the one side, and loving them unconditionally on the other. It can feel like a paradox of sorts, as […]
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Peace in the Storm?
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took Jesus along, just as he was, in the boat…A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, […]
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Confront More, Complain Less
“I find it unusual that it is more socially acceptable to complain about what you have than it is to ask for what you want.” (Phil Lout) Last week was the American week of gratitude. I hope yours was as rewarding as mine. But now, finally, we can get back to our national pastime: complaining.There […]
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Christmastime is Here
“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.” (Winston Churchill) After waking from my carbohydrate coma this morning, I couldn’t wait to hear Vince Guaraldi. I am a sucker for holiday music, and the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack is, of course, my favorite. And this season is, of course, […]