Here’s an age-old question: What’s so special about the human species? Until fairly recently, the answer for many people was found in the Bible: We are made in the image of God. But it can seem (to some people) that the theory of evolution – what we now know about human beings slowly emerging and having evolutionary continuity with all of life – makes it a bit more difficult to define exactly what makes us so different from other creatures. In his recent book, The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us......
Continue Reading
I received a picture and caption this morning and while very funny and specifically Jewish, it speaks to a deep wisdom about the benefits of being out of place, and certainly ones not limited to Jewish or even religion in general. In the picture a Jewish prayer shawl, typically worn at morning prayers, has been placed as a table cloth. The caption accompanying the image read, “This is what happens when your housekeeper set the table”. Let’s leave aside the presumption that people all have housekeepers to set their tables, as well......
Continue Reading
Does clothing really matter? That’s a question that I have come to take with increasing seriousness, especially as a parent of teenage daughters. Is clothing just the wrapping, and not to be confused with the real gift — the person wearing it? Or, could it be that things are a bit more complicated than that? Well, from a purely numerical standpoint, in the United States alone, the apparel industry employs over 4.2 million people, and is a 250 billion dollar a year business. So, if for no other reason, clothing matters. But......
Continue Reading
Most people have a deeply intuitive sense about what matters most to them.? Once they learn to trust that intuition?- itself no small feat?- the real challenge lies in figuring out where and how to pursue it, to obtain and to deepen it. While there’s no single answer, I’m increasingly convinced that whatever it is that matters most to each of us, there are some helpful principles regarding how and where we’re going to find it. While specific tools, practices and institutions are all crucially important to finding what matters most, in......
Continue Reading
From Odyssey Network’s Faith on the Record series: Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico made headlines recently when he wrote in his new memoir, Just Fly the Plane, Stupid! that a “wife is to voluntarily submit to her husband.”? Brad Hirschfield explores submission and the word “voluntary” in this earlier post on The Wisdom Daily and in the video below: Odyssey Networks tells the stories of faith in action changing the world for the better.? Their stories explore a wide range of issues including peace, tolerance, social justice and the environment.? Visit......
Continue Reading
Is submission a dirty word? Do you hear it and immediately assume that being submissive is somehow less than dignifying? If so, then you will surely be among the critics of New Mexico Congressman, Steve Pearce, who suggests in his new book, “Just Fly The Plane, Stupid”, that women should “voluntarily submit to their husband’s loving leadership”. But perhaps we should slow down a bit and consider the possible wisdom in those words. Now before you scream for my misogynist, backward-facing head, let me explain what I mean. There is real value......
Continue Reading
We need outliers, and we need their ideas. We need the involvement in our lives, especially in the big projects on which we work, of those who see the world differently and think about things in ways which will surprise, if not discomfort us. For those who will quickly say that they already embrace diversity and discomfort, let them appreciate that those are their comfort zones, and they need the input of others, others who privilege uniformity and comfort. Whatever our default position is, be it political, social, spiritual or psychological, we......
Continue Reading
Regret can be good. At the very least, regret is a part of every life, and something that each of us will deal with at some time or another. Who among us does not look back at decisions we have made, paths we have taken, and not had the feeling that we wish we had made some other choice? I sure have. It’s part of being being human. So is how we deal with it. While we probably all have some regrets, they need not make us as miserable as they often......
Continue Reading
Daily Life, Videos, Wisdom Warehouse |
January 06, 2014
Video: Why New Year’s Resolutions Are Important
From Odyssey Network’s Faith on the Record series: Brad Hirschfield on Why New Year’s Resolutions Are Important.? “Every year most of us make them, and most of us break them, but it’s not success that matters as much as the statement of intent.” Odyssey Networks tells the stories of faith in action changing the world for the better.? Their stories explore a wide range of issues including peace, tolerance, social justice and the environment.? Visit Odyssey Networks at www.odysseynetworks.org....
Continue Reading
Drum roll! What is Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year for 2013?? SELFIE! The term describes photos that people take of themselves to post on social media sites or similar platforms. The use of the word has gone up a staggering 17,000% in the past year. Not only have we had expected celebrity selfies from the likes of Beyonce, Justin Bieber, and Kim Kardashian but, also we had an ill-advised political selfie of President Obama with the PM’s from Great Britain and Denmark that made big news. And our first Papal selfie.......
Continue Reading