Philosophy

An interesting photo to reflect on in light of Plato's Allegory of the Cave to compare "the effect of education ( παιδεία ) and the lack of it on our nature. " I could summarize it for you, but instead, I leave you with the photo above and the Wikipedia article, which nicely summarizes this thought experiment by Plato. For me, the most striking and profound point of this comes when the prisoners try to leave the cave. Seeing the Sun, and reality, they experience too much pain, and so they prefer to return to looking at the reflected shadows on the cave wall, refusing to believe that the shadows are not reality. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave It explains why so many people don't want to see a better, less negative or fearful way of living. Emerging from the cave and seeing the sunlight, after so long believing in shadows on the wall, causes them too much pain.

My great-aunt and uncle turned 80 a few years ago, and they decided they had had enough snow and cold, so they decided to emigrate. To Mexico. Just like that. Faith. I thought, “what awesome people! I want to study them.” So off I went to Mexico too, to learn how they do Being So Awesome. Here is what I learned. Fortune favors the bold. Trusting in your own competence is key. Know you can. Don't worry about the stuff. Keep moving. If you give all your stuff away, it will come back when you need it anyway. Embrace the adventure. If you want more of someone, have what they want. Remember birthdays. Be joyful. 1. Fortune favors the bold. My great-aunt had never been to Mexico when they up and moved, lock, stock, and barrel. My great-uncle did go on a bit of a reconnaissance mission, but they did not dither. They set a plan, they organized the steps to get there, and they followed through. And now they are in a much lovelier house in a much cheaper pl...

Subtitle: How CEOs can improve their emotional intelligence. See the numbered simple procedure at the end of the article.  We measure our own strength by comparing ourselves to the people we are standing beside. This is an essential lesson for business. Understanding it can help us live with less frustration outside of work, too. Coincidentally, Travis Bradbury just recently wrote a post about how the top guys end up having lower emotional intelligence. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-your-boss-lacks-emotional-intelligence-dr-travis-bradberry Well, this post explains a bit of why that might be, and how bosses (and everyone) can use this fact to become a better boss, or parent, or friend. Bosses may lack emotional intelligence partly because they have never put themselves in a different position . We judge our own strength by comparing ourselves to those around us. Therefore, the only way to truly know our own strength is to change our situation, and see how we ...

Many people wear and worship a cross to symbolize their devotion to God. I think that a circle is a far more powerful symbol. Indeed, the Celts seem to have come to the same conclusion, as Celtic crosses incorporate both a circle and a cross. A cross symbolizes conflict. It's a constant reminder of a past wrong done to one group of humans by another. It's a constant call to arms. Indeed, the cross symbolism in Christianity is strongly related to the swords of the Crusaders, who went out and spilled all sorts of blood in the name of religious right. But doesn't the Bible also say that Jesus said to turn the other cheek? If he was alive today, would he be delighted to see all the people killing each other in the name of religion? I think not. But a circle gives us no license for violence.  It reminds us that we are all one, a constant reminder that everything we do will come back to us. That's everything we do to another human being, every act...

Many of us are stuck in the daily grind. Living in our houses, paying for our mortgages, going to a workplace every day. We long for more holiday time. Bring the holiday to you! By welcoming a traveller, you can feel as if you have been to their land yourself. As they say, a change is as good as a rest, and conversation with a traveller can be a breath of fresh air. An organization called couchsurfing.com gives you access to all kinds of travellers coming to your town in the near future. I’m not always in the mood to receive someone, but when a Swedish girl posted a note about her sister arriving at the airport, I thought, why not? And what an excellent visit we had. Having been treated wonderfully quite often when I was a traveller myself I remember how great it is to have a kind person greet you at the airport, to give you a shower and a bed. The joy of creating joy is the first benefit. I realized, too, that the kid and I could take a Tuesday off and drive h...

Forgiveness is a complicated thing...................................................................... 1 But is that a healthy way of being?....................................................................... 1 we each choose for ourselves.............................................................................. 2 Tools and beliefs that might help.......................................................................... 3 I like this model:.................................................................................................... 3 Think of this: If you had no expectations, what would you need to forgive?......... 3 Religion................................................................................................................. 4 The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz............................................................ 4 Two of the agreements are about our own behaviour:.......................................... 4 Two of ...

This lesson brings some people a lot of business success, but it’s useful for small women, too, (and everyone else I suppose) to keep themselves safe while abroad in the world. Watch this video of some African tribesmen stealing food from lions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rTYCc2ZF2o Remarkable, isn’t it? We have a small cat who does that – despite her diminutive size, she can eject large, aggressive, loud, human-biting dogs out of the yard (I even heard one go ipe ipe ipe once as it went). You’ve all probably seen a video of a cat chasing a bear, too. Here’s one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdAKxxdRYTE The point is, we are as big as we think we are. We are as able as we need to be. This lesson works in business but it’s also essential to teach any people you know who are concerned about safety and security – for example travellers or young adults about to go out into the world. The lesson is this: If you act like prey, you are prey. If you ...