The reason I re-started regular meditation was my realization that the stresses of work were causing me to lose my center and fly off the handle from time to time. I meditate to remain calm through the ups and downs of the workday.
Category: The Life Apprenticeship
Why The Revolutionaries Are (Also) the Villains of Les Miserables
I recently rewatched the great 2011 film adaption of this movie, and I frequently dip back into the film’s excellent song soundtrack. But after some observation, I have a controversial opinion on the revolutionaries: while they are revolting against an unjust system, they’re not much worth our sympathy. There are a few reasons why the revolutionaries are also villains (of a sort) of this story. These also happen to be some of the reasons why in most wars, the revolutionaries are just as guilty as the state they’re revolting against.
Your Limitations and the Logic of Self-Discipline
Consistency means routine, and routine means discipline. As I’ve worked to implement a new daily morning routine in the last month, I’ve had to call on more discipline than I’ve used in much of my life. If I wasn’t clear about the reason for discipline, I (like most people) probably wouldn’t be doing it. Again, discipline appears arbitrary and unfriendly when it’s not paired with self-interest.
How I’m Fighting Hurry
In the last four years, I have spent a lot of time rushing from one thing to another. By choice, I have brought in a lot of challenges and opportunities into my life. Ever-changing conditions, urgency, and “hurry” come with the territory. I’m alright with being hasty when I need it, but I don’t want my attention and time filled with rush. Here are some ways I’m keeping hurry from dominating my attention and time
Ice Cream Shops, Saturday Night, and Peace
It’s a radical experience in human history for people to have the financial means and the freedom to go out to see a movie, to take the children out for an ice cream, to walk through a welcoming, light-strewn outdoor mall. But that’s what a Saturday night in Atlantic Station is for all of these people. It’s more impressive when I consider that some of these people from minority cultures are likely immigrants. This Saturday night may have been someone’s first night around all of this extravagance.
The Value of Small Inconveniences
Picking up trash and/or glass has become a routine now, and I’ve trained my mind to give myself a pat on the back when I do this small little act of improving the world. I know it seems ridiculous. But I know that just with that small action in the beginning of my day, I defeat a little bit of the laziness behind my failure to do good elsewhere.
The Workplace as a Testing Ground for Moral Decision-Making
In my experience, most people do not recognize a moral dilemma if it hits them in the face. However we choose to label them, however, most of us face hard decisions about right and wrong at least several times a day.
The Values and Traits Behind My Best Relationships
What are the values you most look for when forming relationships? Great question! Any answer I give here will be incomplete, but I have come to notice some patterns in my most valuable relationships. Certain values and traits also help me quickly pick out people I want in my “tribe.”
An Easy Stress-Test for Your Integrity
A big part of integrity is continuity of character – in other words, being pretty much the same person in all places and circumstances. But how do you know if you have it? Look to your circle of relationships. How would you feel if you gathered people from all areas of your life – work, friends, family – and hosted them together at one party?
Feed the Greatness of Others
If you have climbed any height successfully, your words and opinions have power with other climbers. You have an opportunity to counter the self-criticism and doubt in a way that actually means something to someone. You can provide the much-needed second opinion.