This past weekend, my five-year-old son and I were looking at the Guiness Book of World Records. It’d been about 6 weeks since we’d last picked it up. When we came to the woman with the world’s longest fingernails, he giggled and said, “How does she wipe her bum?” Which is the joke I made the last time we were thumbing through the book. Then … Continue reading Words to Remember
I stumbled upon this story about a tiger and a crow a few days ago and I think it teaches that true greatness does not come from dominance, but from humility, cooperation, and the willingness to help others. It goes like that. A mighty tiger and a crow were engaged in a heated debate over who was the strongest. With her usual confidence, the tiger … Continue reading The Tiger and the Crow: A Lesson in Humility and Friendship
Can you believe it has been 25 years since we welcomed the year 2000? Earlier this month on my personal blog, I reflected on how life has changed since December 1999 when an IT issue called Y2K raised concerns of planes falling from the sky, and a complete failure of healthcare, financial systems, and public services. With the wisdom of hindsight, there are several life … Continue reading Y2K Life Lessons – 25 Years Later
American readers have an opportunity at their Thanksgiving celebrations this week to make this year’s holiday season less costly and more meaningful. If you’d like to simplify your holiday celebrations, it could be time to have a conversation with family about shifting the focus of the holidays from presents to presence. Joy Doesn’t Come from a Store The original animated cartoon of Dr. Seuss’ How … Continue reading Make the Holidays About Presence, Not Presents
We often hear of the power of 3, the rule of 3, or even the magic of 3. What is so special about the number three? After hearing two different people extol the value of three this week, I decided to investigate the science behind the number three and consider ways it can improve our lives. Earlier this week, at a presentation on leveraging LinkedIn … Continue reading Can the Power of 3 Improve Your Life?
A couple of weeks ago, an email popped into my inbox with tips on having productive conversations about climate change. In an increasingly divided world, where the need to be right puts relationships with others at risk, the email was an excellent reminder of the importance of seeking to understand different points of view in all areas of life. The email, from The Carbon Almanac, … Continue reading Tips for Productive Conversations
When you take a guided tour to explore arts, you discover peculiarities you wouldn’t expect. I learned a lot when listening to the guide’s explanations of the Creation of Adam by Michelangelo. Last year, when we went to Rome for my son’s graduation ceremony, we had the chance to participate in a guided tour of the Vatican City, where lies a treasure that has captivated … Continue reading The Mystery Behind Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam
Good morning! As I shared in last Monday’s post, I took some time this past weekend to fully unplug and recharge. It was refreshing! I don’t have a full post today, but wanted to drop in to share a quote that I wrote down during one of the videos on my weekend retreat. If only we could live two lives: the first in which to … Continue reading Mistakes! I’ve Made a Few!
The 2024 World Happiness Report results are in. Once again, the tiny nordic countries of Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway all rank in the top 10. These countries are clearly doing something right. What’s their secret? And what can we learn from the nordic countries about happiness? It’s fascinating to me to see these small countries top the World Happiness Report rankings year after … Continue reading What Can We Learn From Nordic Countries About Happiness?
With so much conflict in our world these days, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. How do we shut out the noise and find that feeling of peace and tranquillity that feels so elusive? Understanding what’s behind all the turmoil is a good place to start. Continue reading Restoring Peace and Tranquility in Our Lives
At school I was always told that, “I couldn’t make a living from staring out of the window.” But then I became a pilot! Staring out of a window became my profession. Often, while staring out of the window from 40,000’, my mind would wander. Just like the clouds outside, my thoughts would take on all sorts of shapes and sizes. Eventually I decided to … Continue reading 3 Snippets of Wisdom
It is easy to be dismissive of mythology in our modern-day secular culture. With the tools of logic, science and reason at our disposal, we arrive at our ideas of truth through rigorously testing our hypothesis with hard evidence and data. It was around the time when I was completing my undergraduate coursework in philosophy when I started to look at the world through a … Continue reading Diving into the Mythopoetic: A Personal Story
It may seem cliché, but we are all born with a unique set of gifts. Each of us is distinct from one another with different genes, cultural upbringings and life experiences. Moreover, we all have our own interests, passions and value that we can offer the world. No one quite sees or interprets things like we do. Rather than inspiring authenticity and creativity, our education … Continue reading Unleashing Human Creativity: Education and the Revival of Human Imagination
Wu Wei is a key concept of Taoism that can be translated as “do not act” or “do not intervene”. However, it is not a passive attitude. It’s letting go to allow the action to flow effortlessly and in harmony with the “original cosmic order”, without attempting to modify it. The result will be merging into the spontaneous movement of nature and life. When talking … Continue reading Wu Wei, the Art of Non-acting
With Black Friday in recent memory and Christmas shopping right around the corner, what better time to look at the issues of consumerism in our society. Modern advertising is rather peculiar. If you pay close attention, you’ll realize that many of the commercials you come across don’t actually tell you much about the product that is being sold. The advertisement doesn’t present reasons or rational … Continue reading The Empty Promises of Consumerism
What can we learn from Indigenous cultures about being better stewards to the natural world? After all, Indigenous Peoples were the original caretakers of the land thriving in complex societies long before the arrival of European settlers. As a Canadian citizen, my country along with the rest of the world, has been slowly learning about the violence inflicted on Indigenous Peoples and the horrors of … Continue reading Indigenous Knowledge: A Roadmap to Belonging Again
O’ Modern Man, Modern Man, how you stand up tall with your undeserved pride. You hold infinite knowledge in the palm of your hand, Control nature, much more than it can withstand. Is there anything you can not know? No place where you can not go? Why are you so serious modern man? Don’t you see life is a great mystery. Is there still wonder … Continue reading The Ignorance of the Modern Man
The art of play Continue reading Embracing the Art of Play
The practice of meditation may at first seem counterintuitive or foreign to the Western mind. With the abundance of digital technologies and entertainment options available to us, why would anyone abandon these luxuries to sit alone in silence. Surely there are more productive ways one ought to spend their limited time here on earth. Yet meditation has become a recent cultural phenomenon. According to one study, … Continue reading The Science of Mindfulness
This idea of surrendering ourselves to something beyond our control is foreign to our natural inclinations as human beings. At our core we are meaning making creatures who tirelessly seek to rid the world of uncertainty, and have power over our natural environment. We develop myths, rituals, belief systems, and socio-political institutions all in an attempt to influence the outcome in our favour – to shape our … Continue reading Amor Fati and The Acceptance of What is Necessary
