He found it in his father's workshop, beat up and weathered almost beyond recognition, its compartments filled with nails and bolts and screws. But that's not what it was made for. My cousin Matthias, who lives in Germany, recognized the old secretary as one of the woodworking masterpieces our great-grandfather had hand-crafted in the 1890's. He paid somewhere around $2,000 to have it restored. This stunning piece is now displayed in Matthias' living room. I've often heard about the process of restoration from my father, himself a worker in finely crafted wood Continue Reading
How This One Simple Habit Nourishes Your Soul
I walk past it and drive by it all the time, without a second thought. But on a recent walk, I slowed down enough to actually pay attention to the little vineyard in my neighborhood. This is something we are becoming increasingly bad at, isn't it? Paying attention? We rush through our day, checking off items on our to-do list, but fail to notice the beauty and the meaning in our surroundings. I'm pretty bad about that, but on this particular day, I let my eyes drink in the natural beauty before me and pondered its significance. I was amazed at how much insight Continue Reading
How to Avoid Making a Sincere Apology
You know that awkward moment when you realize you've done something that hurt another person, but you really want to save face? We've all been there. It's humbling and downright painful to take the blame and ask the other person to forgive us, isn't it? I mean, it makes us look bad. It makes us feel bad about ourselves. Sounds like low self-esteem to me, and we can't be having any of that, now, can we? Not to worry: In light of our dilemma, I've developed a strategy. You may be familiar with some of these already, or you may even have others that could be added Continue Reading
How Your Insecurity Hurts Other People
"Sandy doesn't give me the time of day," said Allison. "I bet she's heard bad stuff about me and that's why she doesn't talk to me." If people aren't warm and cordial to Allison (not her real name), her assumption is that they dislike her. Allison is insecure. We tend to sympathize with insecurity, but do you see the problem here? Allison failed to give Sandy the benefit of a doubt. She assumed Sandy purposefully snubbed her the way a vindictive junior-high girl might. She assumed Sandy listens to gossip. Yet Allison did not tell Sandy Continue Reading