“Who enjoys tranquility? The one who doesn’t take seriously either praise or the lack of it from other people.” Thomas a Kempis (Lifted from Bill Britton)

I was taught by a psychologist that each of us desires three essential things that supply us with a sense of worthiness: (1) To be heard, (2) To be cared about, and (3) to belong to something significant. I have thought of these three elements for decades and they never fail to offer insight and personal direction.
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“Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside, you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.” Naomi Shihab Nye from, her poem Kindness

The older I get the more philosophical I seem to become. Wisdom, faith, and sensibility take over as supreme directives in my inner (and outer) life. However, like faith, philosophy that does not result in virtuous actions is dead.
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“There are three primary things that we must let go of. First is the compulsion to be successful. Second is the compulsion to be right—even, and especially, to be theological right… Finally, there is the compulsion to be powerful, to have everything under control. I am convinced that these are the three demons Jesus faced in the wilderness.” Richard Rohr

We depend upon so many false narratives to fill our longing hearts with meaning and contentment.

The Quest for More

In our mismanaged quest for “more,” we hunger for some sense of unique and important personal identity. Among those longings are the acquisition of success, certainty, and the power to control my life. Richard Rohr suggests we need to get rid of these three goals in order to be spiritually and psychologically whole.
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“Our times are desperate for meaning and belonging: There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life.” John O’Donohue

Spiritually speaking we are living in the oddest of times—at least in the West. Not only is church attendance on a rapid decline but even more lamentable is the increasing number of people with no interest in organized religion—where rules and restraints often seem to dominate.
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“I am struck by how sharing our weakness and difficulties is more nourishing to others than sharing our qualities and successes…” Vanier

FROM UGANDA

For decades my role in business and personal life is to be a coach: life coach, business coach and yes, sports coach. My job is first to attempt to understand people—their hopes and challenges—and then to offer some kind of insight regarding self-understanding and ideas for next steps.

What is the Role of Coach, Friend, Mentor?

I think there is a misunderstanding about the role of a coach. A coach is not the “answer person,” not a good coach anyway. A coach is a partner-in-thought who can find some way to identify with another person and then discuss the nature of their life, their dreams, and their challenges.
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“Nothing can stop me now, ’cause I just don’t care anymore.” “Piggy” Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails

In a style typical of Trent Reznor, the singer/song-writer offers an important philosophical supposition in simple, everyday language: Nothing can stop me now cause I just don’t care anymore! I think Trent is suggesting that when find a way to no longer feel the need to control outcomes with people and life goals, we become free to act with courage and hope for best, and then wait for the results.
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“Be right enough to believe, but never so right you can’t be wrong.”

I once had an exchange with an Episcopalian bishop who told me that although the Scriptures may be right, we as humans are often not so right. I will never forget his comment: “We must hold closely to our beliefs, but with modesty and humility, knowing that we—as humans—could be wrong!”
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“Our mission is to be the resource that helps achieve the mission. However, if we make ourselves the mission, we will be neither mission nor resource.” Craig D. Lounsbrough 

I was thinking this morning: What if self-centeredness is actually vital for the development of a healthy and completed self? What if we are built (or “hard-wired”) to be self-centered? Finally, what if self-centeredness is the bedrock for other-centeredness?

Hmm, says I.
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“Abandon knowledge… abandon righteousness… discard profit. These three things are superficial and insufficient. Thus, this teaching has its place: Show plainness, hold simplicity, reduce selfishness, decrease desires.” The Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu

Abandon knowledge and righteousness and then discard profit? Huh? With just six words the 5^th century (BC) Chinese sage, Lao Tzu, seems to suggest that I discard three of my most dear values: knowledge, righteousness, and financial profit.

Yet there is more to it, isn’t there?
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“To create peace in our lives—and in our world—we need to be able to sit with frustration and hold the tension of opposite views.” Parker Palmer

Good or bad? Right or wrong?

Dualistic Thinking

Such dualistic decisions are rarely so cut and dried. The most important decisions in life seldom boil down to one of two options. It’s just not that simple, is it? In fact, I am fond of jokingly saying, “Never believe what I say today because, with more information, I might change my mind tomorrow.” Haha. But it’s true!
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