Loving fellowship, mutual encouragement, and willingness to learn together are natural properties of any group of youth sincerely striving for the same ends… There is a lot that we have to learn, every single day in our lives. Sometimes, when we make a mistake while trying to learn, we encounter honks, stares, and negative comments.… Read More Adopting a learning mode: what it can look like
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
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
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?
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
A lot of people have problems with religion. It’s to the point that I often feel that, as a religious person, I can’t talk about what I really believe in for fear of being labelled. I have been called a fanatic. I have been told that I can’t think for myself and that’s why I… Read More Differences in Opinion: Let’s Stop Oppressing One Another
Last week’s post on cultural appropriation inspired some very interesting conversations. Most interesting was the fact that most reactions came from well-meaning individuals who work hard on eliminating prejudices from their day-to-day lives. It’s difficult for people like us to realise that, despite all the time, energy, and love we put into this cause, we… Read More Cultural Appropriation: Contextualizing our Work to Eliminate All Prejudices
My love for obsession with The X-Files, resurrected to its fullest force with the announcement of a special six episode special event, has come as a surprise to those of you who know me mainly for my posts on community building and personal development and as the author of the Spirit Within Club series. (On… Read More The Truth Is In This Post: My On-Going Love Affair with The X-Files
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
Continuing with my established tradition to refer to inaccurate numbers when writing posts for this blog, I would like to share a totally made up and very vague statistic: that most people in the world are nice. At least of the people that I know and interact with regularly, most are. From the members of… Read More The Most Peaceful Anti-Trolling Movement Ever: Go Forth and Comment, Kind People!