609. Measuring

Many of us learn that it’s a sin to tell a lie, and that confession is good for the soul. And so many parents get quite concerned when their children lie, and get quite frustrated trying to elicit confessions. I remember how my own parents used to do it. They lined us up facing them…

People waste an awful lot of energy thinking of ways to avoid taking responsibility for things that don’t work out right. That energy could be used to seek out the real sources of problems – both the external ones and the little flaws we humans have. And the problems would end up getting solved sooner….

There’s something about a pet that meets a human need. A dog can be the kind of friend we sometimes wish people could be. It’s probably good that people don’t give us the same kind of unthinking loyalty we can get from a dog, but nevertheless, there are times when some of us wish they…

I used to be a boy, and boy, it took a long time to come to terms with some of the stuff boys had to grow up with. A good friend of mine (who also used to be a boy) read my article called “When Friends Argue” and asked me why he doesn’t remember experiencing…

People don’t always do what they would have done if they’d only known better. They often have reasons to wish they’d done things differently. And that can be exactly how they get to know better next time. Foolishness, reviewed intelligently, can be a great way to get wise. College, for example, can be a great…

Probably, most of you get paid. If you’re lucky, as I was, you get paid to do things you like to do. Maybe, as I do now, you get paid for having already done those things. That’s even better. But if you’re unemployed, you have to rely on society’s sense of fairness. The money you…