Category Archives: Courage

C. S. Lewis on Evil & “Enemy-Occupied Territory”

Posted on December 5, 2023 by John

From C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity,” at the end of chapter 2; my abridgement One of the things that surprised me when I first started reading the New Testament seriously was that it talked so much about a Dark Power in … Continue reading →

Posted in C.S. Lewis, Courage, Evil, Morality | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

M. Scott Peck on Dedication to the Truth

Posted on November 12, 2023 by John

What follows is my abridgment from pp. 44-62 of “The Road Less Traveled.” The third tool of discipline or technique of dealing with the pain of problem-solving, which must continually be employed if our lives are to be healthy and … Continue reading →

Posted in Conscience, Courage, Honesty, Lies, Love, M. Scott Peck, Self-Awareness, Spiritual Growth, The Road Less Traveled, Truth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

May God Bless Us All . . . with Discomfort, Anger, Tears, and Foolishness

Posted on December 5, 2013 by John

. . . This is not by any means what we normally think of when asking God to bless us.  Maybe when asking God to “bless” our enemies or oppressors, but not when asking him to bless our family and … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Conscience, Courage, Critical Thinking, Mother Teresa, Personal Growth, Ruth Fox, Saint Teresa of Avila, Spiritual Growth, The Examined Life, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Serenity Prayer, Self-Acceptance & Self-Care, and Discernment

Posted on July 2, 2013 by John

. DISCERNMENT.  (Noun.)  A core component of wisdom.  The ability to make fine yet profound/crucial distinctions; the ability to see (comprehend) more clearly what is unclear and obscure. The Serenity Prayer (as it applies to ourselves) God, grant me the … Continue reading →

Posted in Conscience, Courage, Critical Thinking, Czeslaw Milosz, Denial, Differentiation, Difficulty, Goethe, John Kenneth Galbraith, Love, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Personal Growth, Perspective, Self-Love, Spiritual Growth, The Examined Life, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Positive Peace versus Negative Peace: A Few Quotes & Excerpts on How Real Peace and Understanding Might Actually Be Achieved

Posted on January 18, 2013 by John

(or—How to Distinguish Those Who Really Are Trying to Promote True Peace from Those Who Are Merely Seeking Comfort, Escape, and the Appearance of Peace) . . Peace is a nebulous word, having at least *two* definitions. And the way … Continue reading →

Posted in B4Peace, Baltasar Gracián, Bloggers for Peace, Courage, Critical Thinking, Differentiation, Difficulty, Emerson, Emotional Maturity, Gandhi, Henry Ward Beecher, Luke 12:51, Martin Luther King Jr., Matthew 10:34, Perspective, Spiritual Growth, The Dalai Lama, The Examined Life, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Only Proactive People Can Genuinely Love Others, Reactive People Can’t (updated)

Posted on January 17, 2013 by John

(The following is abridged and adapted and modified from Stephen R. Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change”) Between stimulus and response, human beings have the freedom to choose—but only *if* we develop and … Continue reading →

Posted in "Man's Search for Meaning", "Siddhartha", Conscience, Conscious Love, Courage, Critical Thinking, Differentiation, Emotional Maturity, Hermann Hesse, Immature Love, Intimate Relationships, Love is a Choice, Love is a Decision, Love is Not a Feeling, Luke 6:32-35, M. Scott Peck, Mature Love, Mental Health, Perspective, Proactivity, Reactive, Real Love, Responsibility, Spiritual Growth, Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, The Examined Life, The Road Less Traveled, Truth, Viktor Frankl, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Love, the Feeling, versus Love, the Capacity (Immature Love versus Mature Love, part 2)

Posted on January 8, 2013 by John

. A properly (or fully) developed human being is a Loving human being. Love, ultimately, is a capacity. A capacity that develops as the result of developing many other capacities and virtues and behavioral predispositions. Some of these are of … Continue reading →

Posted in chapter 13, Conscience, Conscious Love, Courage, Differentiation, Emotional Maturity, Friendship, Generosity, Gratitude, Honesty, Immature Love, Love is Not a Feeling, Mature Love, Perspective, Real Love, Self-Love, Spiritual Growth, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Why Real Love Is So Difficult & Rare (updated 12-26-2012)

Posted on December 26, 2012 by John

. (This is an updated version of a post I first publish on Feb 28, 2012 — “Why Real Love Is So Difficult & Rare“) . . “We have lost our sense of values: when your fence falls, you mend … Continue reading →

Posted in Conscience, Conscious Love, Courage, Czeslaw Milosz, Differentiation, Emotional Maturity, Generosity, Honesty, Immature Love, Intimate Relationships, Love, Love is Not a Feeling, Mature Love, Mental Health, Real Love, Self-Extension, Spiritual Growth, Thích Nhất Hạnh, Thomas Merton, Truth, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

What Is This “Love” Thing All About? (Part 1)

Posted on October 26, 2012 by John

. This will be a two part post. Part one will consist of a repost/reblog of an advice column question and the answer that was given in that column. Part two (which will appear sometime in the next few days) … Continue reading →

Posted in "Dear Sugar", "Tiny Beautiful Things", Cheryl Strayed, Courage, Death, Honesty, Intimate Relationships, therumpus.net, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Love, Impermanence, Uncertainty, Fear: Which Wins?

Posted on October 19, 2012 by John

. . I posted this over on one of my other blogs, but the topic is apropos here as well. . . . . The Buddha said: “Life is suffering.” Sickness, old age, death: these things cannot be avoided. But most … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Death, Denial, Love, Mental Health, Real Love, Thomas Merton, Waking Up, What is Love? | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments