What if you died and found yourself standing in front of St. Peter, and the almighty asks, "How was heaven?" We spend our entire lives striving to get somewhere else. What if heaven is here and now? Shortly after I graduated from college and accepted their job offer, The Pillsbury Company moved into a new …
The Downside of Debate
I was on the debate team in school. The experience taught me there are two sides to every issue. From that experience, I developed an appreciation for dialectical conversation or the search for truth from opposing views. Today I rarely take a stand on anything until I've heard both sides. Objective facts, logically presented, win …
Transitions
Life is constant change. Some are planned; others sneak upon us. What have been some of the most significant transitions in your life? For me, getting a driver's license was huge. In retrospect, it signaled the end of childhood. I will never forget my first solo outing behind the wheel and the pure exhilaration of …
Just Nine Words
I used to work for a large corporation. One of the rewards of my job was young people seeking my opinion and listening to what I had to say. Considering the advice I might offer, a Winston Churchill Quote came to mind; “If I had more time to prepare, I would’ve made a shorter speech.” …
Cats and Dogs
People who like pets generally fall into one of two categories, cat people or dog people. Some, I guess, enjoy both animals, but most people prefer one or the other. Have you ever noticed people resemble their pets? It's especially true for dog people. Cat people, on the other hand, sometimes display cat-like personalities. A …
The Quality of Life
Near the end of her long life, I asked my grandmother if she could go back, would she change anything. “No,” she said, “I’ve had a wonderful life!” I guess we can either chase what we want or want what we have. Grandma was clearly in the latter camp. Still, it begs the question. What …
The Lost Art of Listening
Listening is something we usually do while doing something else. TV is a good example. It’s often left on as background noise, like packing peanuts filled in around higher priorities for attention. Want to give someone a gift they will love? Try listening to them. It's not as easy as it sounds. To really …
The Search For Meaning
Contrary to popular belief, truth is not synonymous with fact. We see the world not as it is, but as we are, something the fact-checkers miss. Facts rule the head telling us what things are but not what they mean. Meaning resides in the heart, and without it, we lose our way. Joseph Cambell …
Loneliness
Sometimes life resembles the two ants floating downstream on a log, thinking they're steering. We rarely have as much control over life as we think. The past year was proof. In the song "Big Yellow Taxi," Joni Mitchel sang; "Don't it always seem to go,that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone." We …
Belonging
Recently while cleaning out my office, I stumbled across my high school yearbook. Our high school was very “clique-ish.” I was not one of the cool kids. In middle school, kids were just kids. By the time we reached high school, a rigid caste system splintered us into factions. A few of my good buddies …
Towards A Life Well-Lived 