“How do you define wisdom,” asked the boy. “It is like harnessing the wind,” replied the old man. “What do mean?” “The wind can extinguish a candle or fuel a fire.” “So it’s all about applying things in the right dose,” said the boy. “Oh, it’s far more subtle that,” continued the old man. “It’s…

Take a look at this old Viceroy cigarette advertisement. The tagline is “The man who thinks for himself …”. The irony, of course, is that marketing executives at Viceroy were telling the “thinking man” how to think. Now, I’m not so presumptuous as to tell you how to think, but it is my opinion that…

“You can get 12 months of work done in 11 months but you can’t get 12 months of work done in 12 months.” Please re-read the above sentence. At first glance, it doesn’t make any sense. Upon reflection, however, you may come to see the wisdom embedded within the statement. If you are constantly working,…

Most of us are familiar with the famous classroom dictum: i before e except after c. It is helpful most of the time but not always. For example, do you find it weird that the word “weird” isn’t spelled wierd? If you wish to stay open to unlearning, it’s helpful to remember that every rule…

As a parent, I want to encourage curiosity and creativity in my children. To signal my interest in their education, I frequently ask the question: “What did you learn in school, today?” It recently dawned on me that this is a most unsatisfactory question. I now ask one or both of these questions: “What questions…

“What’s enlightenment,” asked the seeker. “I can only provide a metaphor,” replied the wayfinder. “Have you ever been in the darkness when a bolt of lightening suddenly illuminated all of your surroundings in vivid clarity?” “Yes, I have,” replied the seeker excitedly. “Is that enlightenment feels like?” “No,” said the wayfinder to the seeker’s immense…

One day the student asked the traveler whether he was prepared for Judgement Day. He only smiled and replied, “I don’t know but if I faithfully practice non-judgement every day I think I’ll be prepared.”

I heard … more money will make me happier. I heard … whoever ends up with the most toys wins. I heard … it’s all about me. I heard … you can never have enough. I heard … you can never be too rich or too thin. I heard … a rumor. I heard ……

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” –Mark Twain The path of unlearning can be steep and, often, the first step is the most difficult. The reason this is so isn’t necessarily because the journey ahead is so arduous (although often it can be), it…

I really like the photo to the right. It depicts the same scene, the only difference is that on the right half of the photo the night sky is being masked by man-made light. A fitting metaphor for the modern world. Often, we are so surrounded by the modern conveniences of light that we fail…