"Home" for the Holidays?

Nov 21, 2009 - Most of my life I've often wondered why Thanksgiving seemed to be for many families a trigger word for family dysfuction.  Why individuals couldn't just let that disagreement with another family member go for one bloody day and enjoy some good food and conversation with more pleasant family members.  I have to keep reminding my self that I'm pragmatic by nature and that is apparently unusual. I found an article with some helpful tips.   Holidays are meant to be happy, joyous and life-affirming times. - 30 Comments

A Highly Recommended Book

Nov 26, 2009 - I have not been feeling well, which is obligatory of what I am going through, and I know there are people who are happy about this.  So, I have turned from Sugar to reading a LOT!  But, when I do have something of interest for you I will post it for you as I care deeply about so many of you.  I am not looking for sympathy or empathy of any nature.  Far from it.  Taking a break from Sugar has been situational.  Therefore READING has been a serenity of sorts.  Absorbing information which I wish I would have attained months ago.  A book advised for reading: "The Moral Sense" by James Q. Wilson   Mark Twain once advised, "Always do right.  It will gratify some people and astonish the rest." (you know how I love my quotes).  The thought of astonishing people is certainly appealing, yet somehow we have to know what's right before we can do it. How do we know what's right?  It's not easy, despite the fact that there's a vast field of study devoted to the topic which is described using terms like "Ethics," or "Moral Philosophy."  However, countless philosophers writing shelves full of books over have hardly improved on the age-old cliche', "treat others as you want to be treated."  Albert Schweitzer rephrased it this way: "A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives."  But why should we even be interested in opening the question?  Why not just leave the discussion of ethics to theologians?  Despite the fact that religion and ethics are sometimes assumed to be interchangeable ideas, a standard of morality is important whether one believes in a higher power or not.  It makes society work and establishes the basis by which human beings can relate to each other and to their environment safely and responsibly.  If our ethical lines shift according to whim, others won't be able to anticipate our responses or predict our stance on any issue.  We all have a strong desire to know where we "stand" in relation to others.  Do they care about us?  Do we care about them?  How do we know whether our relationships can be relied upon? - 0 Comments