In all the spiritual disciplines, happiness is said to come in part from a sense of interdependence, at-oneness or what the Catholics call communion. When you are at-oned–atoned–there is no us and no them and nothing to fight. There is peace. And happiness. This type of happiness includes generosity because once you sense your interdependence […]
Happiness and Life Satisfaction
A Hint for Bringing Out The Good In Others
The other day I was standing in the crowded New York subway and a man sitting down held up his Daily News and said loudly “Anybody want the paper?” I actually wanted it but was standing and couldn’t really read it. Around me, a lot of people had earbuds in and didn’t hear him. A couple people […]
Detoxing Your Life from The OUTside In
I am teaching a five-week course and giving an introductory talk on the topic of this blog post–details below. You certainly don’t need to attend the course to find the ideas in this blog post helpful though. Victor Frankl famously wrote “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear with almost any ‘how.’” One reason why the […]
How to Figure Out What You Care About
So many people have come up to me after I’ve made a public appearance and asked me, “What should I do? Inside myself I know that I am called to help the world in some way but I don’t know how.” So I ask, “What do you worry about or care about most in the […]
How to Become Yourself to Help The World
The good news about how disastrously troubled our world is is that it needs so many sorts of talents and passions in order to help it that there is a place for every one of us. In other words, if you care about world problems, you don’t have to fit yourself into someone else’s idea of how to […]
The problem of materialism and the solution in five minutes
A video written by my friend and colleague Tim Kasser. It presents a unifying theory of what’s wrong and what to do about it.
Is progress good or bad?
I spent much of this morning on the phone with a friend who is one of the top leaders in corporate sustainability. He wanted to know my thoughts on "innovation" and "progress." Did I think they were good or bad? Did I think the drive for both helped or hindered the quest for a life […]
Becoming your real self to help the world
Recently, I gave a talk in Chattanooga, Tennessee at the Girls Preparatory School. The talk was more or less about how the world is in so much trouble that it needs every sort of talent and passion in order to help it. In other words, if you care about world problems, you don't have to […]