I’d like to tell you a true story about love. When I was a teenager, I was terrified of marriage. How could I ever find one person who I wouldn’t get bored of, who I would care about so much that I would put his needs before my own, and who I could trust in…
Do You See The Flowers?
Do you see the Flowers? People often ask me why I do the strange things I do — like spending my Friday nights cruising downtown just to talk to all of the street dwellers, picking up hitch-hikers, handing out flowers to strangers, or purposely driving somewhere I have never been at a whim just to…
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District
When I was in high school, our literature class read a book which made a great impact on me. It is called Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk district by Nikolai Leskov. The book is about a rich, married woman – Katerina Izmaylova, who fell in love with one of her servants who had a bad reputation…
Push the Limits
I recently had the chance to watch a documentary about a man named Ayrton Senna. He was a legendary Indy car racer from Brazil whose personality and charisma inspired a whole nation through his racing. Being Brazilian, he was often faced with political opposition within the racing community (most drivers were European and that’s where…
Love is a Choice
Love has been a universal theme of stories, songs, and melodies throughout time and throughout all cultures. In almost every language there seem to be special words used to describe love in its various forms. As I was studying Japanese, I was struck by the grammatical difference between the verbs “to love” and “to fall…
The Power of Intention
In this day and age, technology is everywhere and in many ways it is invasive in the extreme. Yet it is not without its benefits for it allows us to connect, share information, and coordinate action as never before. To me, this technology is one of my greatest distractions. And as with all things, there…
Children and Forgiveness
One of the most important steps we take in forward walking is learning why and how to forgive each other. Forgiveness relieves our souls from the cancerous burdens that are associated with hating another person. Dr. Sidney Simon said it this way: “Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges,…
Inspire Me
I have always been curious of what inspires people. The reason why I love inspiration is because it creates feeling. I think a lot of us are numb to our true feelings. When you are able to dig down deep and understand what inspires and moves you, then your passion in life will be revealed….
Creating Happiness
I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness lately, about what it means to be happy. Have you ever wondered how some people can have nothing and be totally and completely content and even joyful, while others have everything material that they could ever want and still be miserable? I stumbled upon this TED Talk a…