I imagine it would be a little upsetting to realize that you are the most upsetting person in your life. But it's true! Consider this 2,000 year old, simple thought: "It is not he who gives abuse that affronts, but the view that we take of it as insulting; so that when one provokes you …
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The Warded Locks
Human beings possess an unrivaled ability to observe and catalog the strengths and weaknesses of their fellows. Some may argue that this is a vital component of the survival instinct but I have to wonder if this faith is not misplaced. Could it be that this finely-tuned ability did not evolve as a mechanism not …
Sprung from God
"If a man could be throughly penetrated, as he ought, with this thought, that we are all in an especial manner sprung from God, and that God is the Father of men as well as of Gods, full surely he would never conceive aught ignoble or base of himself. Whereas if Cæsar were to adopt …
Arrhythmia
The majority of our modern ills spring from a pervasive and stubborn arrhythmia. Indeed, physical and mental ills often trace trace their source to a lack of sensitivity or worse, a blatant disregard for the natural rhythms of life. We marvel at the precise movement of the heavens above, the innate wisdom of the hibernating …
Profit from All
Can any profit be derived from these men? Aye, from all. "What, even from a reviler?" Why, tell me what profit a wrestler gains from him who exercises him beforehand? The very greatest: he trains me in the practice of endurance, of controlling my temper, of gentle ways. You deny it. What, the man who …
A heart that watches and receives
The Tables Turned; An Evening Scene, on the Same Subject by William Wordsworth Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; Or surely you'll grow double: Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks; Why all this toil and trouble? The sun, above the mountain's head, A freshening lustre mellow Through all the long green …
Trial by Fire
It can be wearying to only learn through trial by fire, but to do so occasionally can be quite invigorating if not downright fun. It's all in the way you approach the challenge. If you have practiced keeping your cool in the little things - by resisting the temptation to react to petty matters, obvious …
Declare Yourself
In each and every moment - every thought, every word and every deed - you declare yourself, that is, you add to the body of evidence which points to your central orientation. No matter how religious, kind-hearted, sweet-natured or altruistic you may feel you are, this evidence proves unequivocally whether you are fundamentally centered in …
Respect Yourself
"He that respects himself is safe from others; he wears a coat of mail that none can pierce." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow There is no greater loss than the loss of self-respect. Without it you cannot respect others; you merely envy them or use their relative success as a reason for never reaching for yours. …
Civilized? A Jamaican Perspective
When Mahatma Gandhi was asked what he thought of Western civilization, he was reported to have said: "I think it would be a good idea." Thumbing through the last five centuries, I am inclined to agree. Consider this slice of history from the Jamaican perspective, for example. Jamaica, or Xaymaca as it was called by …
Gregory Hake 