"...a true friend has your best interests at heart and the pluck to tell you what you need to hear." ― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly No man or woman is complete unto him or herself. Man is a gregarious species for this reason. We need one another. We, in this sense, complete one …
May Queen
"May Queen", a poem by Gregg Hake on the last day of May Morning rises, the cardinal calls The squirrels are rousing, an acorn free falls Hummingbirds buzzing, seeking things sweet As I sit by idly, soon breakfast to eat Another beginning leaps out of the night On dewy green freshness and soft morning light …
Discover Yourself
"If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong." – Masaru Emoto The real you is always at hand. The core of you …
Initiative
"It is not often that a man can make opportunities for himself. But he can put himself in such shape that when or if the opportunities come he is ready." - Theodore Roosevelt There are many ways to get yourself ready for unforeseen opportunities, but one of the most important relates to the state of …
Corrections and Contradiction
"Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted." - Ralph Waldo Emerson Corrections and contradiction come from a variety of sources. You may, for example be "told about yourself" by someone who knows you well or you may receive corrective information from something like a …
Personal Progress
Personal progress is a common side-effect of doing something for others. When you feel like you're getting nowhere, whether it is writer's block or a general pattern of frustration about your life at the moment, the best remedy just might be serving another in some unexpected and impromptu way. Such frustrations in life have a …
Fulfillment
Fulfillment is not found in the attainment of personal desires, but in the enactment of love's will.
Experience
We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it -- and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again -- and that is well; but also she will never sit …
The Right Question
The wrong answers are more easily detected than the wrong questions. In my estimation, far too much time is spent debating the answers to incorrectly formed questions and far too little time is spent considering the fundamental question: "Are we asking the right question here?"
Loyalty
Loyalty bought with fear or greed is purchased at the expense of integrity. Those who submit their agency on this basis yield not to truth but to the hope for some gain, be it security, comfort, belonging or self-worth. Without integrity, such winnings are devoid of true and lasting fulfillment.
Gregory Hake 