Tag: Buddha

One of the hardest questions to answer is:  “in order to be fulfilled, how much short-term comfort should I sacrifice and how much should I hold onto?”   This is an age-old problem that requires ruthless introspection/experimentation, or there’s no evidence/analysis to base a decision off of.  I might even go so far as to call…

Sometimes, the right thing to do feels wrong or painful.  Knowing one’s self allows someone to understand when to leap into “suffering” or bask in “ecstasy…” And how to transcend both and simply exist in balance.

I freely admit that I love to dominate challenges, be strong, and get things done.   The reason I strive to keep it from outwardly showing is that in my experience, the most dominant, strong, and accomplished people are also the most humble; they’re the first ones to admit they’ve screwed up, the first ones…

People who are willing to admit that they’re wrong (or that they don’t know) have my interest.   People who demonstrate that they’re willing to do something about it have my respect.

It seems that the [comfort/convenience/pleasure/lack of guilt/rush of righteousness] associated with a dysfunctional premise often distracts people from embracing the temporary pain of a functional strategy.  

“I don’t know what the truth is.  Let me look at the evidence, formulate a strategy, and give it a shot.”   That’s a way of being that fosters humility, effectiveness, and cuts through dogma.  From my perspective, it also embodies a deeper truth, for not only does it honor the statement “Faith without works is…

The blank page contains the potential for all stories ever and never written.  It is up to the author to use time-honored tools like discipline, critical thought, and unflinching scrutiny to bring out another glorious tale from that deceptively chaotic blankness.

Here is my rough understanding of the word “truth.”   The Functional Truth applies to daily life; it’s a set of premises/assumptions (derived from personal or external evidence) that allow me to make predictions with a satisfactory rate of positive results, and prosper in the long run.  It does not presume to know the nature of…

In my experience, calling yourself out on bullshit and addressing a problem is infinitely better than waiting for that bullshit to infect your perception and sabotage every attempt to improve your position.