“I want to walk a straight and narrow path toward the truth,” said the student. “How do I do it?” “Walk a crooked and wide path,” replied the traveler. “That doesn’t make any sense,” responded the student. “It does once you understand that if you drift in one direction just the width of an eyelash…

After a long winter, I was finally able to get outside this past weekend and begin preparing my yard for the spring growing season. As I raked away the leaves, I thought the exercise was a fitting metaphor for what each of us should every now-and-again. When was the last time you raked your brain…

Have you ever considered that true happiness isn't found in the accumulation of more positive emotional experiences — such as buying a new pair of shoes, taking a cool vacation, buying a new car, securing a better job or finding a more attractive partner — but rather in the simple act letting go of the…

“What is reality?” asked the student. The traveler didn’t answer. He said only, “Go to the well and fetch a bucket of water.” The student did as instructed. “Now grab a cup of water from the bucket and take a sip.” The student again did as instructed. The water was cool and provided refreshment. “Aah,…

It sounds paradoxical. How can you over-deliver on results by under-scheduling your day? It's easy, really. First, by underscheduling your day you will give yourself some time to think and reflect. And, by taking this time you will, counter-intuitively, come to focus on those things which are truly important. You will drop the clutter from…

Two years before his death, St. Thomas the Aquinas, the Catholic Church's greatest theologian and philosopher went silent. He just stopped speaking. Why? No one is entirely sure why but the last thing he wrote is this: All that I have hitherto written seems to me nothing but straw. As a writer I understand this…

Do you want to live? I mean really live life to its fullest? If so, think about death. Don't just picture yourself dead in an abstract way, I mean really think about it. Picture your body being cremated or, if you plan on being buried, your corpse decaying in its final resting place. To many people…

There is a familiar folktale that offers to the key to unlearning. The story goes like this: There was once an old woman searching intently for something in the street. A passerby asked her, "Have you lost something?" "Yes," she said, "I have lost some keys. I have been looking for them all evening." "Where…

Earlier this spring, I stumbled across this article explaining how an island which the nations of India and Bangladesh had been fighting over for decades had just disappeared into the sea. While many people jumped into the debate to claim the island as a victim of global climate change and rising seas (and, perhaps, it…

Are you unhappy? If so, unlearning can help. The reason is two-fold. First, often, the way we see the problem is the problem. And, second, it is important to remember that the opposite may also be true. For example, if you are unhappy because you don't have a job try focusing on how the extra…