While out riding my mountain bike this week (an exciting new hobby I was cleared to pursue!), I ran into an old friend I got to know while riding my scooter around the neighborhood over the past 3 years. He also rides a scooter. My friend deals on a daily basis with advanced Parkinson’s but […]
You can’t exist as a human being in isolation Desmond Tutu We in the west have a lot to learn from our African brothers and sisters. One of the strengths of their culture is the value they place on community. In the west, we sometimes put the good of the individual over what’s best for […]
Staying hopeful when met with recurring pain and struggle is a challenging task. Several factors are necessary to stay hopeful when circumstances are less than ideal. Two of those factors are the importance of being cared while at the same time, receiving the proper cure. A healthy relationship between care and cure is critical if […]
What’s a day worth to you? And how do you measure the value of a day? Do you measure a day by the contribution you make? By the people whose lives you touch? By the money you make? By the art you create? By the miles you travel? By the books you read? By the […]
On November 18, 1995, the violinist Itzhak Perlman, came on stage to perform a concert at Lincoln Center in New York City. Getting to his chair is no small task for Itzhak. Struck by polio as a child, he walks with leg braces and a pair of crutches. His routine to reach his chair is […]
One act of charity can have an unimaginable impact on the lives of countless people. One act of charity eventually saved my leg. Charity – n generosity toward others Charity has many faces. It shows up as a helping hand, a cash gift, a listening ear, a deepening friendship, personal sacrifice, the sharing of wisdom […]
The world mourns the loss of Nelson Mandela at the age of 95. He lived his life for others and from an early age, entered the fight for freedom and equality to come to his nation. Mandela has been a leader and example for me as I’ve been learning to navigate my own adversity. Studying […]
Survivability – n The ability to remain alive or continue to exist The capability of a person or system to fulfill its mission in the presence of threats, failures or accidents Survivability is more than staying alive physically during or after an experience of failure, calamity, injury, hurt or loss. It is also about being […]
Sometimes in life, we find ourselves in situations unplanned, dark and without hope. We feel a lot like one particular donkey who found himself down in his circumstances and fighting for his life. How he responded to his despair and hopelessness is a lesson worth pondering. The Donkey’s Choice One day a farmer’s donkey fell […]
You might be in a storm right now, have a storm on its way, or see your storm in the rear-view mirror. Regardless of the relationship you have with adversity, your attitude towards it makes a world of difference. Since adversity is unavoidable, why do we have such a hard time accepting it as the […]