Community, Community Building, Community Development, Personal Development

Developing Virtues: Never One At the Expense of Another

Last June, I came across an article by John Haltiwanger in which he explained why optimists are always late. While articles such as his do help understand how people—ourselves or others—think and function, the way Haltiwanger went about excusing lateness as a natural consequence of a virtue didn’t jive well with me. I felt that… Read More Developing Virtues: Never One At the Expense of Another

Community, Community Building, Empowerement, Personal Development

How the Selfish and the Selfless can Enter into an Unhealthy Relationship

I mentioned before that there are probably more good people in this world than bad ones. This is a completely unscientific statement, but I wouldn’t be surprise if a survey determined that, indeed, more people are prone to performing a kind deed rather than a bad one. How, then, can’t this majority of good people… Read More How the Selfish and the Selfless can Enter into an Unhealthy Relationship

Community, Community Building, Community Development, Personal Development

The False Choice We Have to Make Between Helping Ourselves and Helping Others

It’s interesting how each person’s life struggles seem to distil to just a handful of challenges that occur again and again in various shapes and forms. A personal struggle of mine, which I blogged about previously (and one post of which will be reposted later on today), is the injustice that operates within so many… Read More The False Choice We Have to Make Between Helping Ourselves and Helping Others

Community, Community Building

S.O.S.: Why Looking Out for Hero Isn’t Working

From Harry Potter to Katniss and all Marvel and DC heroes, it seems that our society is attracted to the idea of a hero helping us defeat the forces of evil and leading us into victory, oftentimes at great personal cost. While sacrifice is an important element in overcoming adversity, I question the concept of… Read More S.O.S.: Why Looking Out for Hero Isn’t Working

Community, Community Building, Community Development, Family

The Emerging Clarity of Supporting Someone with Cancer

The end of the summer was a little difficult for my family, to say the least. As I shared back in September, my uncle was diagnosed with cancer. The conversation his wife and I started then about the support they are getting from their network has continued; it’s a little convoluted at times and unsatisfying… Read More The Emerging Clarity of Supporting Someone with Cancer

Community, Community Building, Family

Weathering the Storm of a Cancer Diagnosis: Some Initial Learnings and Thoughts

There are a few things I strongly believe in. For example, The X-Files and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer are two of the best television shows I have ever watched and chocolate is a cure for nearly everything. Or, that community-building at the grassroots is essential in ensuring the well-being of every single individual and that… Read More Weathering the Storm of a Cancer Diagnosis: Some Initial Learnings and Thoughts

Community, Community Building, Personal Development

The “Just Wait” Phenomena: Why Can’t We Build A Different Future?

Back in March, I posted a piece on how certain structures of our society encourage us to live in a state of constant discontent. I was thinking about how, at whatever stage we were in—single, dating, engaged, married, with one child—we were always prodded about “the next thing” that we should be aiming for. It… Read More The “Just Wait” Phenomena: Why Can’t We Build A Different Future?

Community, Community Building, International Development, Personal Development

How to Live in a World of Contradictions Without Going Completely Nuts

Do you remember how frustrating it was when, as a child, living in a world of contradictions?  When you were told you couldn’t do something by an adult only to see them doing that very same thing? Or to be told by one adult not to do something only to be told by another that… Read More How to Live in a World of Contradictions Without Going Completely Nuts

Community, Motherhood

Recasting Concepts, One at a Time: The Non-Monetary Value of Worth

Creating a new type of world in which individuals and the community achieve spiritual and material prosperity requires recasting many core fundamental values. This requires that we dig, sometimes quite deeply, into our belief system to verify the implications on which each idea rests. In the case of racism for example, someone might think they… Read More Recasting Concepts, One at a Time: The Non-Monetary Value of Worth

Community, Community Building, Personal Development

The Importance of Learning to Reflect Without Backbiting

A couple of years ago, I went through an extremely difficult situation. A misunderstanding was being compounded by past experiences, and a friend of mine was reacting badly—and increasingly so—to every attempt I made to iron things out. I cannot understate the pain of that experience nor the amount of time and energy I poured… Read More The Importance of Learning to Reflect Without Backbiting