Many amazing and also tragic stories came from the earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan a few years ago. Even though I lived in Japan for a while and had a deep respect for the culture and attitude of the Japanese, it was taken to new heights after hearing many of the stories that came after the earthquake and tsunami. One such story just came to me as I sat down to write. The story is of a fisherman who after…
It was Ernest Hemingway that said: “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” The word noble can be used in different arenas to mean different things. The old idea of nobility was something that one was born into or connected with a high military rank. Nobility was not something that everyone could achieve. The playing field has been levelled in the 21st century, and even…
Fear does not mean that you are a coward. Fear means that you are human. There isn’t a human on the planet that does not experience fear. The difference is that some people run from fear while others face their fears and walk through them. If there is someone out there that you admire and wish to emulate in some way, just realise that they went through the same fears as you may be going through now. Without fear,…
Sounds like a good name for a book, doesn’t it! In fact I may write a book and give it this title. or maybe I should write this first and see how it goes…yeah maybe that is a better idea. Facebook used to have a very visible section on the about page where members could input their religious views. I noticed that many, many people would write “Spiritual, not religious” in this section. Of course I can’t speak for everyone,…
Pain and suffering are two different things. One can experience pain, but not suffer. Pain can be a pleasurable experience if we feel that we are gaining something from it. We suffer when we see ourselves as the victim and when we hold attachment to whatever we see as the cause of our suffering. I studied to a fair depth both the buddhist teachings and the Vedic teachings, spending time in monasteries and temples, experiencing and searching for some…