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# This Is Our Story

A religion of values and ethics, informed by science and reason.

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.thisisourstory.net/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Redeeming](https://www.thisisourstory.net/redeeming/) - Springtime reminds us that redemption is possible, especially if we seek it. Redemption is a difficult idea for many people to grasp and accept. The idea is that no matter what we have done in the past, we can live productively in the future. This may not sit well with someone whose life has been
- [Taking Inspiration](https://www.thisisourstory.net/inspiration/) - Sometimes creativity gets a boost, like a car being jump-started, or a breath of air to restore life. Those moments are called inspirational. When your Daemon is in charge, do not try to think consciously. Drift, wait, and obey. [Rudyard Kipling] “Inspiration marks moments of peak functioning that integrate the hedonic well-being of the primitive
- [Surrendering - Accepting the Things We Cannot Change](https://www.thisisourstory.net/surrendering/) - Surrendering is about being at peace with the things we cannot change. . . . that sad but easeful core of peace that is the reward when all is renounced. [Maestro Benjamin Zander commenting on the solo cello statement near the end of the final movement of Mahler's Ninth Symphony] Control and surrender have to
- [Keeping Fidelity; Being Loyal](https://www.thisisourstory.net/fidelity/) - Fidelity, in the context of Faith, is reliance over time. When our trust, confidence and reliance are rewarded consistently over time, we are unlikely to stray from the object of our Faith. Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy
- [Evanescence - Impermanence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/evanescence/) - Life seems to be everlasting, because it is all we ever experience. Like everything else, for each of us, it ends. We dole out our lives in dinner parties and plane flights, and it's over before we know it. We lose everyone we love, if they don't lose us first, and every single thing we
- [Re-creating](https://www.thisisourstory.net/re-creating/) - By living vitally, we re-create ourselves, and are made new. When I would recreate myself, I seek the darkest woods . . . [Henry David Thoreau, “Walking”] A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. [attributed to Paul Dudley
- [Recognizing Revealed Truth, from Within](https://www.thisisourstory.net/revelation-certainty-of-experience/) - Sometimes, it is as though a light has suddenly gone on from within. Such revelatory moments can be transformative. It was a common theme of the ‘nature sermons’ that had made Laurillard one of the most sought-after preachers in Holland. Using simple, vivid images, he portrayed a Christ not only in nature, but also intimate
- [Family](https://www.thisisourstory.net/family/) - For good and ill, family is a central part of human relationships. In early childhood, it is formative. There's something unique about having a member of a family that really needs you in order to function well. One of the deepest longings a person can have is to feel needed and essential. [Fred Rogers.] The
- [Being Unified and Cohesive](https://www.thisisourstory.net/unity-cohesion/) - Unity is an empowering force. Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. [attributed to Ryunosuke Satoro] Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. [Helen Keller] Unity is vision; it must have been part of the process of learning to see. [Henry Adams] When spiders unite, they can
- [Wondering](https://www.thisisourstory.net/wonder/) - Wonder is not merely a sense of wonderment (that is awe) but truly wondering about the many mysteries that we do not yet understand. The world is full of such mysteries. When we wonder, we take an intellectual journey. That can lead to other journeys. It is enough for me to contemplate the mystery of
- [Mutuality - Reciprocity - Cooperation](https://www.thisisourstory.net/mutualitycooperation/) - Low-level interpersonal relationships are essentially transactional. Without the sense of collaborating with like-minded beings in the pursuit of the ever unattainable in art and scientific research, my life would have been empty. [Albert Einstein] To make peace with an enemy, one must work with that enemy, and that enemy becomes one’s partner. [Nelson Mandela] .
- [Being Curious](https://www.thisisourstory.net/curiosity/) - Like buds on a plant, we begin to open ourselves through curiosity. “Seek knowledge for its own ends.” . . . By allowing himself to be driven by pure curiosity, he got to explore more horizons and see more connections than anyone else of his era. [Walter Isaacson, Leonardo da Vinci, (Simon & Schuster, 2017),
- [Pleasure](https://www.thisisourstory.net/pleasure/) - In itself, people prefer pleasure over displeasure. . . . pleasure is the starting point and goal of living blessedly. For we recognized this as our first innate good. [Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus.] It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and honorably and justly, and it is impossible to live wisely
- [Being Aware of Things as They Are](https://www.thisisourstory.net/awareness-of-reality/) - Some realities are unpleasant. All the more important that we acknowledge and face them. The modern, and to my mind true, theory is that mathematics is the abstract form of the natural sciences; and that it is valuable as a training of the reasoning powers not because it is abstract, but because it is a
- [Observing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/observing/) - By observing other people, we learn about them. You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you. [attributed to Eric Hoffer] The great advantage of being a writer is that you can spy on people. You're there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing.
- [Remembering](https://www.thisisourstory.net/remembrance/) - By remembering, we return to the meaning in our past. We get our sense of identity from our memories. We may never pass this way again. [Title of a song by Seals and Crofts] Grief starts to become indulgent, and it doesn't serve anyone, and it's painful. But if you transform it into remembrance, then
- [Powerlessness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/powerlessness/) - A second great spiritual pain is that we are powerless in relation to many things. We will come to Niebuhr's serenity prayer but before we do, we acknowledge that pain that makes us seek that comfort. We are all powerless over the inevitability of death; however, we can extend our lives or end them. Sometimes
- [Communicating: Listening and Discussing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/listening/) - Our complex, highly developed human capacity for language is a major part of human life. Doing it right is central to our well-being as individuals, and as a species. In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts and be assured that
- [Confronting, Being Introspective](https://www.thisisourstory.net/confronting/) - Sometimes, we might confront another person, lovingly, for bad behavior. We can also confront ourselves, with introspection and self-love. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. [The essence of this can be gleaned from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Book I.] We were both crucified by the truth. [Barry Hannah, ”The Water Liars” (1978), a short
- [Comforting](https://www.thisisourstory.net/comfort/) - When we are weary and feeling small, or down and troubled, we may crave comfort. When you’re weary, feelin’ small, When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all. [Paul Simon, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”] When you’re down and troubled / And you need a helping hand, / And nothing, nothing is going
- [Preferences - Desire](https://www.thisisourstory.net/preferences/) - There are no values without valuers. Ethics, morality, law, spirituality, and religion spring entirely from our preferences. . . . imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will. [George Bernard Shaw] Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly
- [Cultivating Mental Health](https://www.thisisourstory.net/mental-health/) - Good mental health is a necessary foundation for most aspects of life. Some people think you've chosen to sleep on the street. People don't choose to lose their jobs or suffer from mental health problems. The vast majority of people who are vulnerably housed or homeless don't have any other choice. [attributed to James Bowen]
- [Appreciating Nature](https://www.thisisourstory.net/appreciating-nature/)
- [Honoring Truth (Satyagraha)](https://www.thisisourstory.net/truth/) - Your life is your core Truth, as you live it. Deeply understanding another person’s Truth (satyagraha) is a creative force in the domain of thinking, drawing on emotion. Satyagraha, of which civil-resistance is but a part, is to me the universal law of life . . . A genuine Satyagraha should never excite contempt in
- [Displaying Grit](https://www.thisisourstory.net/grit/) - Grit is perseverance enhanced by strong emotion, and an ability to continue despite costly setbacks. Grit is that “extra something” that separates the most successful people from the rest. It's the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality. [attributed to Travis Bradberry]
- [Opposing Injustice](https://www.thisisourstory.net/opposing-injustice/) - Opposing injustice is one way to look at citizenship - all citizenship is about opposing injustice. Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.
- [Being Concerned](https://www.thisisourstory.net/letting-go-2/) - Love implies concern. Human progress in neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a casual look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. [Martin Luther King, Jr.] Concern should
- [Appreciating Beauty and the Arts](https://www.thisisourstory.net/arts/) - “. . . our creative works carry the wisdom of the world.” The following quotations are from the National Endowment for the Arts (United States): The arts matter because I learn something about people and places I would have never known otherwise. The arts make my brain and my heart stretch to make room for
- [Cherishing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/cherishing/) - To cherish is to hold something dear; to hold someone close and still be able to let go, to be present, to stand up, to respond to another person’s needs. All of these things transcend ego, and open us to Love. . . . our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this
- [Exhibiting Facility](https://www.thisisourstory.net/facility/) - The ability to move quickly through something, seemingly without effort, is the eyebrow-raising characteristic of the person who excels at an activity. It is the ability to do something quickly and well. The most creative people have this childlike facility to play. [attributed to John Cleese] My goal is to make fine art, and fine
- [Blossoming - Expanding Horizons - Extending Reach](https://www.thisisourstory.net/blossoming-expanding-horizons-extending-reach/) - As we grow, our world expands. Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. [attributed to Marcel Proust] Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others
- [Taking Pride](https://www.thisisourstory.net/pride-2/) - One kind of pride lifts us up; the other brings us down. If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride - and never quit, you'll be a winner. The price of victory is high but so are the rewards. [attributed to Paul “Bear” Bryant] I'm a black American, I am proud of my
- [Political Equality](https://www.thisisourstory.net/political-equality/) - A core principle is one person, one vote. That idea and its corollaries are central to democracy. Proof that they do not understand the republic is that in their fine promises for universal suffrage, they forgot women. [attributed to Delphine de Girardin] Globalization and trade liberalization were supposed to make us all better off through
- [Living in Discipline, Self-Control and Self-Regulation](https://www.thisisourstory.net/discipline-self-control-self-regulation/) - Through discipline, we put and keep ourselves in good order. Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability. [attributed to Christian writer Roy L. Smith] Your disciplines today will govern you tomorrow. [attributed to French author Thomas Blandi] We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds . . . Will our inward power
- [Transcending Previous Limitations](https://www.thisisourstory.net/transcendence/) - We do not enter a supernatural world when we transcend a previous limitation; it merely feels that way, because we have not experienced it before. Within ourselves, there are voices that provide us with all the answers that we need to heal our deepest wounds, to transcend our limitations, to overcome our obstacles or challenges,
- [Returning Home - Reuniting - Reconciling - Reclaiming](https://www.thisisourstory.net/reuniting-2/) - Coming home gives us a chance to take another look at people and places we once saw through different eyes. If you go back to your home town or you're reunited with school friends, its always slightly bittersweet because as much as there's nice things in terms of seeing them again, the town has changed
- [Being Kind](https://www.thisisourstory.net/kindness/) - Kindness can be seen as generosity of spirit, put into action. . . . that best portion of a man's life, / His little, nameless, unremembered acts / Of kindness and love. [William Wordsworth] Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. [attributed to
- [Living in Flow](https://www.thisisourstory.net/flow/) - We are not “wired” to sit still but to be active, and in flow with our best selves. . . . the best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to
- [Supporting and Practicing Learning, Teaching, and Education](https://www.thisisourstory.net/learning/) - In every cognitively advanced species, teaching, learning, and education are essential dynamics of healthy and productive individual and social living. Education broadens to include all men, and deepens to reach all truths. Scholars are no longer confined to Greek, Latin and mathematics, but they also study science; and science converts the dreams of the poet,
- [Imagining](https://www.thisisourstory.net/imagination-2/) - Imagination is the intellect’s creative force. Before the concrete idea is the imagined and desired state. When that comes into bloom, the inner world thrives, and our productive capacity expands. . . . imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what
- [Suffering](https://www.thisisourstory.net/suffering/) - With a concept of justice in hand, we step back to consider suffering, the bane of our existence as living beings. Suffering is the price of being alive . . . [variously attributed to Judy Collins and others] Suffering is permanent, obscure and dark, And shares the nature of infinity . . . [William Wordsworth]
- [Hoping](https://www.thisisourstory.net/hoping/) - From the bleak mid-winter of our souls, we emerge into hope. When we hope, we look to the future, as we wish it to be. It's utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the
- [Developing, Encouraging and Promoting Self-Confidence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-confidence/) - Self-confidence (what do I think of myself?) I’ve never let anyone talk me into not believing in myself. [Muhammad Ali, Success Magazine, June 1998] Believe you can and you're halfway there. [attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, probably falsely] If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence,
- [Evolution](https://www.thisisourstory.net/evolution-2/) - Evolution is a word for a process that applies to every dynamic system. It applies to biology, social systems (such as economics, politics and culture), and to our personal lives. To understand why and how things change, we must understand evolution. Evolution does not necessarily favor the longest-lived. It doesn't necessarily favor the biggest or
- [Being Open](https://www.thisisourstory.net/openness/) - Konstantin Somov, Open Door on a Garden (1934) To receive the world and everything it has to offer, we must be open. When the flower opens, the bees will come. [variously attributed] Optimism . . . is a fact within my own heart. But as I look out upon life, my heart meets no contradiction.
- [Being Intellectually Honest](https://www.thisisourstory.net/intellectual-honesty/) - Sometimes people say the goofiest things with apparent conviction. This is a sign that the person is not being intellectually honest. In all debates, let truth be thy aim, not victory, or an unjust interest. [William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude in Reflections & Maxims (1682), “Rules of Conversation,” Part I.] The trouble with most
- [Universal Inclusion](https://www.thisisourstory.net/universality/) - As beings who sense, feel emotionally, think and act, we care what happens to us. We observe that other people experience life, much as we do. Valuing their life experiences, as well as our own, is a bedrock choice for any values system concerned about more than the self. This includes our interactions and relationships
- [Consilience](https://www.thisisourstory.net/consilience/) - Consilience is a unity of knowledge, the religious equivalent of a unifying force or principle in physics. Then I discovered evolution. Suddenly - that is not too strong a word - I saw the world in a wholly new way. [Edward O. Wilson, Consilience, Chapter 1.] Science, its imperfections notwithstanding, is the sword in the
- [Honoring Worth](https://www.thisisourstory.net/honoring-worth/) - When we honor another person’s worth, we do not merely respect their personhood; we cherish it. Dignity - rightful conduct - consists in honoring the worth of every person. Poor is the man who does not know his own intrinsic worth and tends to measure everything by relative value. A man of financial wealth who
- [Physical Systems](https://www.thisisourstory.net/physical-systems/) - Physical strengths can lead to complacency. Physical disabilities can lead to strengths in other areas. I actually think the deafness makes you see clearer. If you can't hear, you somehow see. [attributed to David Hockney] I arise early in the morning to work on this project. For a few hours, I am at my peak.
- [Being Devoted](https://www.thisisourstory.net/devotion/) - The political and journalistic world can boast of very few heroes who compare with Father Damien of Moloka'i. It is worthwhile to look for the sources of such heroism. [Mohandas Gandhi commenting on the life of Damien de Veuster in T.N. Jagasdian, Mahatma Gandhi Answers the Challenge of Leprosy (1965), p. 3.] To be devoted
- [Empowering](https://www.thisisourstory.net/empowerment/) - With spiritual maturity comes empowerment, in our individual lives, and in our relations with others. Communities become empowered by acting together, in harmony. Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking. It's about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity. [attributed to Guy Fieri] Education remains the key to both economic and political empowerment.
- [Reconsidering](https://www.thisisourstory.net/reconsidering/) - Over a lifetime, we have plenty of time to think things over - or so it seems. When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man
- [Being Principled](https://www.thisisourstory.net/being-principled/) - Principles are rules of conduct. They are essential guides to ethical behavior but rarely can be taken as absolutes. In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. [falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson] Love is the crowning grace of humanity, the holiest right of the soul, the golden
- [Habits and Attitudes](https://www.thisisourstory.net/attitudes-habits/) - Habits are mainly a combination of emotion and action. Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits. [Mark Twain] Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken. [Samuel Johnson, paraphrased] We make our habits and then our habits make us. [variously attributed and revised] An attitude
- [Liberating](https://www.thisisourstory.net/liberating/) - When we are not free, we may seek to liberate ourselves, so that we may choose our own course of action as autonomous beings. When none could eat any more, the Ivinses’ daughters asked William and Ellen if they could read. No, was the response, to which their hosts replied that if the Crafts wished
- [Relying](https://www.thisisourstory.net/reliance/) - A way of expressing Faith in action, reliance is the child of the two parents, trust and confidence. We are more likely to rely on someone, or something, we think and believe is likely to bring about a desired result. Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance
- [Being Solicitous](https://www.thisisourstory.net/solicitude/) - Being solicitous is about watching out over another or others. Continue to walk in the faith and, faithful to the mandate that has been entrusted to you, go out with solicitude and joy toward all creatures and pass on to them the gifts of salvation...Let yourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit to be the
- [Developing and Pursuing Dreams and Goals](https://www.thisisourstory.net/dreams-goals/) - When we hope, we can dream, and set goals; then, the lives we desire begin to come into focus. Hold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow. [Langston Hughes, “Dreams”] Do not confuse dreams with wishes. There is
- [Persevering - Being Tenacious](https://www.thisisourstory.net/perseverance-tenacity/) - Because we do not always succeed, persevering is an important value; it can be the only path to success. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. [Thomas A. Edison] It is common sense to take a method and try it. If
- [Cultural Inclusion](https://www.thisisourstory.net/cultural-inclusion/) - Our many cultures enrich us. Tragically, they have also divided us. Greater knowledge, and a better understanding of the science, history, literature and art about culture can help us live more ethically, more fully, and shape a better world. Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient
- [Renewal and Renewing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/renewal/) - . In nature, spring brings renewal. There are also times of renewal in life. We don't even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome. [attributed to
- [Developing, Encouraging and Promoting Self-Understanding](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-understanding/) - "How well do I understand myself?” No tree tries to become a certain kind of tree. No flower tries to become a certain kind of flower. The tree and the flower open up to the sun and soak up water. Thus, they grow into themselves. No judgment. No expectations. No commentary. Your task is the
- [Journeying - Venturing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/journeying-venturing/) - In addition to seeing life as an invitation, we can also see it as a journey. We make that journey by accepting the invitation to live fully. That invitation is naturally present. Life is not a journey to the grave with the intentions of arriving safely in a pretty, well-preserved body, but rather to skid
- [Savoring the Moment](https://www.thisisourstory.net/savor-moment/) - Savoring the moment is living in the here and now, enthusiastically. The decision to make the present moment a friend is the end of the ego. [Eckhart Tolle] Happiness, knowledge, not in another place but this place, not for another hour but this hour . . . [Walt Whitman] When something good happens, try to
- [Caring, and Being Compassionate](https://www.thisisourstory.net/kindliness/) - To care about someone is to take action on their behalf, not merely feel what they feel. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. [attributed
- [Praxis](https://www.thisisourstory.net/praxis/) - Knowledge builds on knowledge, from generation to generation. If I have seen further, it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants. [Isaac Newton] . . . there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men —above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our
- [Being Resolute](https://www.thisisourstory.net/resolve/) - Not merely to dream but as the poet wrote, to hold fast to our dreams – then we can begin to empower ourselves. We need hope and optimism, sometimes, when external forces have control over the outcomes that will affect our lives. So these values do not have an action component. At their best, they
- [Latitude](https://www.thisisourstory.net/latitude/) - Latitude - the freedom to move about, and to choose. Everybody understands friendship, and friendship is different than love - it's a different kind of love. Friendship has more freedom, more latitude. You don't expect your friend to be as you think your friend should be; you expect your friend just to love you as
- [Being at One with All](https://www.thisisourstory.net/oneness/) - We are part of the only reality there is. So we think - most of us do. People normally cut reality into compartments, and so are unable to see the interdependence of all phenomena. To see one in all and all in one is to break through the great barrier which narrows one's perception of
- [Society - Companionship - Togetherness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/society-companionship-togetherness/) - Humans thrive best in the society and companionship of others. This represents a step beyond mere reciprocity, which is essentially impersonal. The solution to alone-ness is not more solitude, but companionship and community. [attributed to Robert Fulghum] I don't know that I would want to be married again, but I do love companionship. [attributed to
- [Ineffability](https://www.thisisourstory.net/ineffabiliy/) - Everything we call ineffable escapes our present ability to put it into words. We can look deeper, and consider more carefully. Suffering, cheerfully endured, ceases to be suffering and is transmuted into an ineffable joy. [Mohandas Gandhi, October 13, 1921] . . . when a human being reaches the age of reason, he struggles against
- [Being Faithful to Commitments](https://www.thisisourstory.net/commitment-fidelity/) - Commitment fidelity is more than merely keeping promises. It is a core commitment, religious in nature. Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. [Helen Keller] There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the
- [Embracing Life](https://www.thisisourstory.net/embracing-life/) - Embracing life is accepting all things as they are, enthusiastically and with open arms. Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not
- [Balance](https://www.thisisourstory.net/temperance-balance-symmetry-proportion/) - We need balance in life, and in how we see life. Balance is essential to a healthy and well-ordered life. It is the same with people as it is with riding a bike. Only when moving can one comfortably maintain one’s balance. [Albert Einstein] The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in
- [Being Forthright and Straightforward](https://www.thisisourstory.net/forthrightness/) - Speaking directly and without reservation, without being overly aggressive or intimidating, is an important social skill. I am not intimidating, I am forthright! [attributed to Deborah Meaden] The way you build trust with your people is by being forthright and clear with them from day one. You may think people are fooled when you tell
- [Being Ready and Adaptable](https://www.thisisourstory.net/adaptability-readiness/) - Circumstances change. We must change in response. Our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change. [Martin Luther King, Jr.] (Man is) a tool-making animal. [Thomas Carlyle via Benjamin Franklin] It is not the strongest of the species that
- [Being Considerate](https://www.thisisourstory.net/consideration/) - Considering people in a positive way is a form of honoring them. . . . though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace. [Dwight D. Eisenhower] My mother early on taught us to respect all animals, and I mean all animals
- [Being Optimistic](https://www.thisisourstory.net/optimism/) - Optimism is an attitude that accompanies hope. When we practice and cultivate being optimistic, we poise ourselves to act on our dreams. . . . the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. [Franklin Delano Roosevelt, first inaugural address] People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try
- [Values and Expectations](https://www.thisisourstory.net/values-expectations/) - What we want can drive us forward. It can also get us into trouble. The decisions you make are a choice of values that reflect your life in every way. [attributed to Alice Waters] I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values - and follow my own moral
- [Being Assertive](https://www.thisisourstory.net/assertiveness/) - Throughout our lives, we assert ourselves - we do things. Cooking is about passion, so it may look slightly temperamental in a way that it's too assertive to the naked eye. [attributed to Gordon Ramsay] Only a dynamic and strategically-minded America, together with a unifying Europe, can jointly promote a larger and more vital West,
- [Working Miracles](https://www.thisisourstory.net/miracles/) - Miracles are occurrences and states of affairs that we did not think were possible. Frequently, people underestimate what is possible. Faith produces miracles. Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you. [attributed to Jon Bon Jovi] A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile
- [Experiences and Identity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/identity-experiences/) - Identity refers to a sense of self. It is substantially a product of our experiences. All life events are formative. All contribute to what we become, year by year, as we go on growing. As my friend the poet Kenneth Koch once said, "You aren't just the age you are. You are all the ages
- [Living in Eternity's Sunrise](https://www.thisisourstory.net/eternitys-sunrise/) - Every moment is eternity’s sunrise. He who binds himself to a Joy / Does the winged life destroy; / But he who kisses the Joy as it flies / Lives in Eternity's sunrise. [William Blake] I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps
- [Embracing the Past](https://www.thisisourstory.net/embracing-past/) - Whatever our past has been, it is ours. Our best strategy is to embrace it, nurture it, reconcile with it, and create our future as we wish it to be. He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind. [The Bible, Proverbs 11:29.] I have great respect for the past. If you don't know
- [Living in Harmony](https://www.thisisourstory.net/harmony/) - Agreement, in fact and in spirit, is the essence of harmony. Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay. [attributed to Sallust] But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? [Albert Camus] The purpose of life is to obey the hidden command which
- [Novelty](https://www.thisisourstory.net/novelty/) - Because all dynamic systems evolve, novelty is present everywhere. However, the distinction of “novelty” is reserved for things that are remarkably so. Nothing is more dangerous than a dogmatic worldview - nothing more constraining, more blinding to innovation, more destructive of openness to novelty. [Stephen Jay Gould] Monotony collapses time; novelty unfolds it. You can
- [Endurance - Stamina](https://www.thisisourstory.net/endurance-stamina/) - We empower ourselves through persistence in action - through endurance and stamina. The key to doing eight shows a week is endurance, stamina. [attributed to Betty Buckley] Chess as a sport requires a lot of mental stamina, and this is what that makes it different from a physical sport. Chess players have a unique ability
- [Overcoming Doubt](https://www.thisisourstory.net/overcoming-doubt/) - Faith is moving forward in the face of doubt. Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. [Dale Carnegie] Doubt is the father of invention. [variously attributed] Doubt is the vestibule through which all must pass
- [Championing Rights of Being](https://www.thisisourstory.net/rights-of-being/) - Basic rights of being, often called human rights, are only a beginning step toward justice, but an essential one. Basic rights of being include the right not to be violated – violations take many forms. I regard as impious and detestable the maxim that in matters of government the majority of a people has the
- [Living Spiritually](https://www.thisisourstory.net/spirit/) - Spirituality is the sense of reaching out beyond the self. If each of us is a tree, the spirit is the branches; the soul is the roots. By having a reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world By practicing reverence for life we become good, deep, and alive. [attributed to
- [Being Open-hearted](https://www.thisisourstory.net/open-heart/) - An open heart offers a pathway to the wishes and dreams of others. Maybe people don't understand my openness. In fact, if someone randomly comes and hugs me, I'd hug them right back. I am all for free hugs that make people happy. [attributed to Tejaswi Madivada] We must be willing to let go of
- [Welcoming - Assisting - Offering: Being Open-handed](https://www.thisisourstory.net/welcoming-open-hands/) - Openness culminates in action. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" [Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus”] A smile is the universal welcome. [Mariann LaFrance] My values, our
- [Conscience](https://www.thisisourstory.net/conscience/) - We begin with rudimentary building blocks of justice, one of which is conscience. This value is mainly an emotion. Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience. [Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960).] The study of
- [Living Energetically](https://www.thisisourstory.net/verve-energy/) - Energy, expressed in action, is the essence of vitality. Energy and persistence conquer all things. [attributed to Benjamin Franklin] You've done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination. [attributed to Ralph Marston] It is only
- [Separation and Alienation](https://www.thisisourstory.net/separation-and-alienation/) - To be at one with all people and with the physical world is an ideal. One of our three great spiritual pains is that we do not live in that ideal state: we are often separated and alienated. This is true of every creature, and it is more true of man than of any other
- [Playing - Being Playful](https://www.thisisourstory.net/play-playfulness2/) - Play is an important activity among many animal species. Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game. [Michael Jordan] Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play. [Heraclitus] Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning.
- [Nurturing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/nurturing/) - Nurturing is an extension of comforting. It is emotionally satisfying but more important, it facilitates growth and a sense of self-worth. Every day, at home, I have the astonishing and humbling opportunity - together with my wife Sophie - to nurture empathy, compassion, self-love, and a keen sense of justice in our three kids. [Justin
- [Freedom](https://www.thisisourstory.net/freedom/) - We are free when we have the right and the liberty to choose for ourselves. Freedom is among the most highly prized of our values. I do not believe we can have any freedom at all in the philosophical sense, for we act not only under external compulsion but also by inner necessity. Schopenhauer’s saying—
- [Accepting Others](https://www.thisisourstory.net/acceptance-2/) - To know another person's Truth, we must accept him for who he is. It was said that the true majesty of Marcus Aurelius was that his exactingness was directed only at himself. He did not ‘go around expecting Plato’s republic.’ People were people, he understood they were not perfect. He found a way to work
- [Conceiving - Having Ideas](https://www.thisisourstory.net/conceiving-ideas-2/) - Great accomplishments begin with ideas, and visions of how things might be. Everything begins with an idea. [attributed to Earl Nightingale] The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas. [Linus Pauling] Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. [in content, Henry Thomas Buckle]
- [Dissenting - Challenging Conventions](https://www.thisisourstory.net/dissent/) - The best theories are only approximations of the truth. Systems of human invention eventually become outdated. That is why we need dissenters. The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not
- [Being Vigorous](https://www.thisisourstory.net/vigor-avidity/) - We empower ourselves through intense application of energy - through vigor. Just as iron rusts unless it is used, and water putrifies or, in cold, turns to ice, so our intellect spoils unless it is kept in use. [Leonardo da Vinci] The method of the enterprising is to plan with audacity and execute with vigor.
- [Resilience](https://www.thisisourstory.net/resilience/) - By nature, humans are resilient. This is a great asset in every season. When fear rushed in, I learned how to hear my heart racing but refused to allow my feelings to sway me. That resilience came from my family. It flowed through our bloodline. [Coretta Scott King] Resilience is the strength and speed of
- [Being Original and Unconventional](https://www.thisisourstory.net/originality-unconventionality/) - Progress depends on the original. Sometimes, great progress comes from the unconventional. Human progress has always been driven by a sense of adventure and unconventional thinking. [Andre Geim] Originality is independence, not rebellion; it is sincerity, not antagonism. [George Henry Lewes] Never let schooling interfere with your education. [Grant Allen] Where all think alike, no
- [Living in Reverence and Natural Piety](https://www.thisisourstory.net/piety/) - Reverence - natural piety - is a useful attitude that lifts us to higher ground, inspires us, and makes us more productive. . . . I might pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which I could walk with love and reverence. [Henry David Thoreau] . . . reverence for life contains all the
- [Individuality](https://www.thisisourstory.net/individuality/) - Each of us has a sense of self, a sense of being an individual. My passionate interest in social justice and social responsibility has always stood in curious contrast to a marked lack of desire for direct association with men and women. I am a horse for single harness, not cut out for tandem or
- [Analyzing and Synthesizing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/analyzing-synthesizing/) - To analyze is to take apart, to separate cognitively into component parts. To synthesize is to put the parts together, and see the whole. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you toward success - or are they holding you back? [W. Clement Stone] Intellectuals are in a
- [Living in Equanimity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/equanimity/) - Becoming agitated about what has been serves no good purpose. If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, / If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, / But make allowance for their doubting too; / If you can wait and not
- [Being in Awe](https://www.thisisourstory.net/awe/) - Awe - being aware of, excited about and engaged with the world and all it has to offer. Awe is centered in the domain of emotions. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who
- [Beginning - Ending; Growing - Declining](https://www.thisisourstory.net/beginning-ending/) - This heady time of renewal reminds us of life’s cycles, which including beginning/ending, and growing/declining. There is a curious paradox which no one can explain. / Who understands the secrets of the reaping of the grain? / Who understands why spring is born out of winter's laboring pain, / Or why we all must die
- [Inclusion Regardless of Lifestyles and Opinions](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tapestry-lifestyles-opinions/) - Through our lifestyles and opinions, we express our individuality. Yet we are more than our choices and opinions. Greater knowledge, and a better understanding of the science, history, literature and art about the ways in which we divide ourselves can help us live more ethically, more fully, and shape a better world. Diversity is the
- [Belonging; Cultivating Friendships](https://www.thisisourstory.net/belonging/) - The need to belong is “a fundamental human motivation”. “Everyone likes to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves– a friend group, a house, a college, or even a country. These affiliations can define how others perceive us, as well as how we perceive ourselves.” “The sense of belonging is fundamental
- [Mortality](https://www.thisisourstory.net/mortality/) - Ultimately, we are powerless over death, and we are of it. . . . approach thy grave Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. [William Cullen Bryant, "Thanatopsis."] Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave. I know. But I do not approve. And
- [Being Serious and Attentive](https://www.thisisourstory.net/attentiveness/) - Meeting worldly obligations requires seriousness and attentiveness. The characteristic attitude at this level is attentiveness, as in "Pay attention." A person who characteristically and as a matter of routine pays attention to his responsibilities has reached at least the second developmental level. I've always taken “The Wizard of Oz” very seriously, you know. I believe
- [Loving](https://www.thisisourstory.net/love/) - Love is the emotion that mirrors the well-being of the loved one(s). . . . love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence . . . [Erich Fromm] The love that flowed between them was such as no young lovers in the heat and impatience of their passion could
- [Living Sustainably](https://www.thisisourstory.net/sustainability/) - Without sustainable practices and technologies, the future is bleak. We all have a choice. We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations. Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail. [Greta Thunburg] If we use our fuel to get our power, we are living on our
- [Chronicling Nature](https://www.thisisourstory.net/chronicling-nature/) - Nature tells a vast, fascinating story. A good photograph is knowing where to stand. [attributed to Ansel Adams] The Sierra should be called, not the Nevada or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light. And after ten years of wandering and wondering in the heart of it, rejoicing in its glorious floods of light, the
- [Home and Our Debt to the Past](https://www.thisisourstory.net/home/) - Home is where we were during our formative years. In large measure, home made us what we are. . . . where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts . . . [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.] The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe
- [Having a Sense of Connectedness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/connectedness/) - Everything is part of the universe. We are in and of this world. Each of us is part of humanity. We have loved ones, friends, and family. No man is an island, Entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. . . . Any man's death diminishes
- [Affirming, Adding To, Expanding Upon, and Amplifying](https://www.thisisourstory.net/affirming/) - Affirming someone puts an exclamation on their sense of self-worth, expanding and amplifying it, and sometimes them and ourselves. This is a bit simpler when we affirm ourselves. As hard as it is, owning who you are and knowing what you want is the only sure path to affirmation... I want women to know they
- [Being Rigorous](https://www.thisisourstory.net/rigor/) - We empower ourselves by conforming to a relevant order or orders - through rigor. . . . people underestimate the creativity you use in science and the rigor you need in music. They basically have the same path. [attributed to Pardis Sabeti] The social sciences, I thought, needed the same kind of rigor and the
- [Democracy - Self-government](https://www.thisisourstory.net/democracy/) - Because political decisions must be made, some form of democracy is most consistent with a commitment to everyone’s well-being. Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. [Reinhold Niebuhr] My political ideal is democracy. Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized. [Albert Einstein, from
- [Being Good and Decent](https://www.thisisourstory.net/goodness/) - Basic goodness and decency are foundational in life and ethics. Doing Good is a simple and universal vision. A vision to which each and every one of us can connect and contribute to its realisation. A vision based on the belief that by doing good deeds, positive thinking and affirmative choice of words, feelings and
- [Being Careful, Prudent and Cautious](https://www.thisisourstory.net/prudence/) - Care, prudence, and caution are fundamental aspects of worldly obligation. While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. [Francis of Assisi] If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner. [attributed to Omar N.
- [Being Clear](https://www.thisisourstory.net/clarity/) - In communication, clarity is essential. Within the self, clarity can reflect certainty. Sometimes that is to the good. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure yr sentence couldn't mean anything else. [C. S. Lewis] . . . your vision will become clear only when
- [Having and Nurturing Healthy Relationships](https://www.thisisourstory.net/relationships/) - Homo sapiens is a social species. We rely on each other for comfort, companionship, support, nurturance, and guidance. We also rely on each other for reassurance, so most of us respond positively to another person's joy and negatively to another person's suffering. In a relationship, each person should support the other; they should lift each
- [Living Faithfully](https://www.thisisourstory.net/faith/) - Faith is better seen as an action, more than as a belief. Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. [variously attributed] . . . faith is a living thing. It has to grow. If your faith is just a notion, it is not the living thing. When you
- [Autonomy](https://www.thisisourstory.net/autonomy/) - We experience the self as an entity capable of making choices. Listen to the desires of your children. Encourage them and then give them the autonomy to make their own decision. [Denis Waitley] I distanced myself, relatively, from my parents for a year or so in my late twenties. It was necessary for me to
- [Displaying Citizenship](https://www.thisisourstory.net/citizenship/) - People display citizenship by contributing positively to their communities in ways large and small. That is the essence of it. Citizenship consists in the service of the country. [Jawaharlal Nehru] In the classrooms, you have to form citizenship, not people with religious beliefs, that corresponds to the private sphere. [attributed to Pedro Sanchez] Elections remind
- [AI buffer](https://www.thisisourstory.net/ai-buffer/) - CHAPTER 4: The DEMOCRATIC (R)EVOLUTION We are better than we realize we are. For the first time, we can now create institutions of governance that elicit our best. Copyright 2026 by Paul L. LaClair
- [Amore](https://www.thisisourstory.net/amore/) - Amore is so strongly on our minds that most people think it is a synonym for Love. It is one part of one kind of love. We look at each other, and we smile that smile, like a secret we share. We both know we’ve found what the whole world is searching for. [attributed to
- [Living in Good Order](https://www.thisisourstory.net/order/) - Now we reach a value that pulls all values together, in a sense. Every value is part of an order. We need other values to decide what that order should be but the idea of an order is essential to any values system: ethics, morality, law, spirituality and religion. Were one asked to characterize the
- [Appreciating People](https://www.thisisourstory.net/appreciation/) - Appreciating people implies valuing, honoring, and admiring them. Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. [attributed to Voltaire] . . . express your appreciation to your partner. A thank you or a quick kiss can go a long way toward affirming your relationship and commitment
- [Being Proficient - Excelling](https://www.thisisourstory.net/excellence/) - To excel is to surpass. Excellence is the state of attainment at which most others are surpassed. Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. [attributed to Vince Lombardi] The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will
- [Being Precise](https://www.thisisourstory.net/precision/) - Being precise is a part of conforming to the order that is all around us, and within us. A page of a book, he noted, cannot be absorbed in one stare; you need to go word by word. “If you wish to have a sound knowledge of the forms of objects, begin with the details
- [Being Content](https://www.thisisourstory.net/contentment/) - Being rich is being happy with what you have. He who is attached to things will suffer much. He who saves will suffer heavy loss. A contented man is never disappointed. [Lao-Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 44.] When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when
- [Being Subtle](https://www.thisisourstory.net/subtlety/) - Wisdom is finely drawn. An aspect of this is subtlety. . . . we may reply decisively to those who despise any part of natural history as being vulgar, mean, or subtle and useless in its origin, in the words of a poor woman to a haughty prince who had rejected her petition, as unworthy
- [Being Reborn, Transfigured, Transformed](https://www.thisisourstory.net/rebirth/) - A spiritual rebirth is an awakening into a new way of seeing things that matter - our relationships, the world, and self. It was like entering another world, a new state of existence. Natural objects were glorified, my spiritual vision was so clarified that I saw beauty in every material object in the universe, the
- [Following a Sacred Calling](https://www.thisisourstory.net/calling/) - A sacred calling consists of finding our niche in life, and seeing and treating it as sacred. Love your calling with passion. It is the meaning of your life. [attributed to Auguste Rodin] . . . your job is not just to do what your parents say, what your teachers say, what society says, but
- [Cultivating and Nurturing Self-Worth](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-worth-2/) - How do we feel about ourselves, think of ourselves, and express our self-image in action? That is the essence of self-worth. We need a solid foundation in self-worth to be of use to ourselves and others. A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval. [Samuel Clemens, a/k/a Mark Twain, “What Is Man and Other
- [Thought](https://www.thisisourstory.net/thought-2/) - Another stage in development is cognitive thinking. The cerebral cortex develops last, and continues to develop for years after birth. That is why we can do calculus as teenagers but usually not as toddlers. The cerebral cortex is the repository of reason and intellect. It is the last area to develop in the growing child,
- [Appreciating the Tapestry of Life](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tapestry-of-life/) - A life is like a tapestry, with many elements woven together to create the whole. My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the ever changing view. [Carole King] (The brain is a computational device.) It has a bunch of little components that perform calculations on some small
- [Being Mindful](https://www.thisisourstory.net/being-mindful/) - Slow down. Be aware of simple things. They are essential building blocks of our lives. Mindfulness is to be aware of everything you do every day. Mindfulness is a kind of light that shines upon all your thoughts, all your feelings, all your actions, and all your words. [Thich Nhat Hanh] My eyes open to
- [Engaging the World](https://www.thisisourstory.net/engaging-the-world/) - Engaging the world at a basic level represents level-one development in our relations to the physical world. It may involve something as basic as getting out of bed and facing the world. The distinction of engaging the world marks a beginning, in a sense. If we have been depressed, engaging may be like emerging from
- [Being Intellectually Excellent](https://www.thisisourstory.net/intellectual-excellence/) - Each of us is challenged to make the most of our natural intellectual potential. I distrust the rash optimism in this country that cries, “Hurrah, we’re all right! This is the greatest nation on earth,” when there are grievances that call loudly for redress. That is false optimism. Optimism that does not count the cost
- [Being Diligent and Meticulous](https://www.thisisourstory.net/diligence-meticulousness/) - Paying careful attention to detail, without fail, sums up the approach that best leads to success. Negligence is their opposite. The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every calling, is diligence. [Abraham Lincoln] . . . diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man
- [Developing Good Habits and Practices](https://www.thisisourstory.net/habits-practices/) - Good habits and practices are important to living in good order. Doing good things haphazardly or inconsistently does not generate good order. Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. [attributed to Jim Ryun] Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in
- [Being Calm](https://www.thisisourstory.net/calmness/) - We can be calm even when we are active. Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. [attributed to Francis de Sales] Right now I am trying to be in a place of calm,
- [Focusing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/focus/) - Sometimes, our best strategy is to focus on the finest details, or on one task alone. Focus can be considered in the dimension of time, in dimensions of space, or in both: both space and time are dimensions of the only reality we know to exist. The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows
- [Cultivating Insights](https://www.thisisourstory.net/insight/) - An insight is an awakening to a particular point or fact. A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience. [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.] The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection. [attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe] It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that
- [Sentience and Sensation](https://www.thisisourstory.net/sentience-sensation/) - As the zygote develops into a fetus, sensation emerges, gradually. Over time, sensation continues to develop and mature. This is the first part of Being we can value on its own terms – though a good, deep breath can satisfy, too – but then, that satisfaction relies on sensation. Each step in development makes us
- [Inclusion of All Ages and Classes](https://www.thisisourstory.net/age-class/) - A universal ethics is for everyone, regardless of age, social status and class. These too have divided us. Greater knowledge, and a better understanding of the science, history, literature and art about age and class divisions can help us live more ethically, more fully, and shape a better world. The glory of young men is
- [Transcending Ego](https://www.thisisourstory.net/transcending-ego/) - When we transcend ego, we free ourselves. When we think and care about others, they do better, and so do we. The first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it. [attributed to Carl Jung] The seeker after truth should be humbler
- [Healing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/healing/) - Returning home, taking comfort, making peace with and embracing the past all make healing possible. Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. [Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet.] Healing yourself is connected with healing others. Quite often, it’s not that easy to heal yourself, it’s much easier to reach out and heal
- [Developing, Encouraging and Promoting Self-Discovery](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-discovery/) - Self-discovery is the process of acquiring self-understanding. The process can be as memorable and as enduring as the result. Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. [falsely attributed to Carl Jung] Figure out what you’re good at and start helping other people with it; give
- [Living with Integrity and Character, in the Wholeness of Being](https://www.thisisourstory.net/integrity-wholeness-character/) - When everything within us is in agreement, we become more whole. This opens a door into spirituality.. Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your
- [Equality](https://www.thisisourstory.net/equality/) - People wish to be treated equally, and to have a fair chance to succeed in life. Equality is to be found only in the spiritual dignity of man, and that will only be understood among us. If we were brothers, there would be fraternity, but before that, they will never agree about the division of
- [ILLUSTRATIONS](https://www.thisisourstory.net/illustrations/)
- [BEING EMPATHETIC](https://www.thisisourstory.net/being-empathetic/) - Empathy begins the process of connecting us with others, as we share their emotions. Empathy begins with understanding life from another person's perspective. Nobody has an objective experience of reality. It's all through our own individual prisms. [attributed to Sterling K. Brown] Empathy is about finding echoes of another person in yourself. [Mohsin Hamid] When
- [Living in Community and Fellowship](https://www.thisisourstory.net/community-fellowship/) - When people band together in community, and fellowship is present, the community becomes not merely a source of sustenance and protection but a source of love and joy. The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members. [Coretta Scott King] We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget
- [Being Decisive](https://www.thisisourstory.net/decisiveness/) - We cannot get it done until we have decided to do it. The one word that makes a good manager - decisiveness. [attributed to Lee Iacocca] Decisiveness turns slow players into fast ones. [attributed to Joe Ingles] When you really start figuring things out as a quarterback, you realize you don't have to be perfect
- [Living in Dignity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/dignity/) - Properly understood, dignity refers to a high state of ethical/moral attainment and behavior. . . . the quality of a person that makes him or her deserving of respect . . . [Cambridge Dictionary] If human worth is the intrinsic life experience, then what is human dignity? In this model, it is the global term
- [Living Purposefully](https://www.thisisourstory.net/purpose/) - To live purposefully is to put meaning into action. Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them. [attributed to 14th Dalai Lama] The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate,
- [Living with Good Orderly Direction](https://www.thisisourstory.net/direction/) - When we know what we want, and what it means to us, we are best served knowing how to get/achieve it. . . . effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction. [John F. Kennedy] Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people
- [Progressing by Accomplishing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/progressing/) - Assertive values are measured by accomplishment and progress. Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing. [Thomas A. Edison] I
- [Will](https://www.thisisourstory.net/will/) - We are not as free to choose as people once thought. Science has brought old ideas of free will into question. However, we live as though we have free will. Ethics, morality and spirituality depend on a sense of free will, the core of which is in the emotions. We must believe in free will,
- [Arriving - Leaving; Stimulating - Letting Alone; Holding On - Letting Go](https://www.thisisourstory.net/arriving-leaving/) - The emerging springtime reminds us that all things have their season: a time to arrive and a time to leave; times to hold on and times to let go; times to act on and times to let alone. Love is why I came here in the first place. Love is now the reason I must
- [Living in Exuberance, Glory and Ecstasy](https://www.thisisourstory.net/exuberance-glory/) - The spiritual life is an especially joyful life. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. [Psalms, 23:5.] Exuberance is a sense of overflowing joy. A cup can only be filled to its brim but when we have the sense that life is so abundant that our joy seems to overflow constantly, that is
- [Taking Initiative - Making a Difference](https://www.thisisourstory.net/initiative/) - People can take initiative, and thereby shape their own world, their communities, and the world at large. Initiative . . . is doing the right thing without being told. [Elbert Hubbard] Without initiative, leaders are simply workers in leadership positions. [attributed to Bo Bennett] Hold up a mirror and ask yourself what you are capable
- [Being Informed and Socially Aware](https://www.thisisourstory.net/being-informed-social-awareness/) - Good citizens are knowledgeable about public affairs, and the spirit and needs of their communities. To the extent that we are all educated and informed, we will be more equipped to deal with the gut issues that tend to divide us. [Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg] Democracy requires information. Plato knew that informed decision-making requires knowledge. [attributed
- [Living with Ideals](https://www.thisisourstory.net/ideals/) - Without ideals, practicing justice is impossible. Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. [Louisa May Alcott.] The measure of a society is not only what it does but
- [Being Mature](https://www.thisisourstory.net/maturity/) - People can mature intellectually, emotionally, physically, and in development of their skills, talents and abilities. I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity. [Albert Einstein] I think part of maturity is knowing who you are. [attributed to Rob Lowe] Confidence comes with maturity, being more accepting
- [Trying - Making an Effort](https://www.thisisourstory.net/making-an-effort/) - In the domain of acting, the first thing we must do is to make an effort – to try. This is a necessary predicate to higher levels of function such as being responsible, reliable, and innovative. . . . the doing is the point. . . [Sally Brampton, Shoot the Damn Dog, p. 249.] If
- [Including All Beings](https://www.thisisourstory.net/respect-all-beings/) - A universal ethics looks beyond our divisions, and beyond the self. It includes everyone, including sentient non-humans. Practice good-heartedness toward all beings. . . . This is true spirituality. [Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, Life in Relation to Death (Padma Publishing, 1987, p. 28.)] The just man takes care of his beast, but the heart of the
- [Ego - Selfishness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/selfishness-egoism/) - Justice at its most basic level involves caring about more than the self. Ego is the core and root of injustice. . . . evil is always the assertion of some self-interest without regard to the whole . . . [Reinhold Niebuhr.] I fed my ego, but not my soul. [attributed to Yakov Smirnoff] The
- [Supporting](https://www.thisisourstory.net/support/) - Supporting someone emotionally is a way of reassuring them. Sometimes, people need an affirmation like that, for their mental well-being or to continue on a forward path. In a relationship each person should support the other; they should lift each other up. [attributed to Taylor Swift] 'Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but
- [Risking, Challenging](https://www.thisisourstory.net/risking/) - To journey as far as we can go – to lead fulfilled and meaningful lives – we must take chances. Though we may fear or be hesitant about venturing onto new ground, wise risk-taking and bold self-challenges are essential to living fully. . . . only those who will risk going too far can possibly
- [Civilization](https://www.thisisourstory.net/civilization/) - Civilization is a manifestation of order. Civilization is social order promoting cultural creation. Four elements constitute it: economic provision, political organization, moral traditions, and the pursuit of knowledge and the arts. [Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Volume 1: Our Oriental Heritage (1935), Chapter 1, "The Conditions of Civilization".] "Why should I be good to
- [Living with Vitality](https://www.thisisourstory.net/vitality/) - Emergence into spirituality is an awakening. When that happens, the world seems new, and we experience life as never before. Spirituality: the art of keeping your internal fire alive. [Maxime Lagacé] You cannot set art off in a corner and hope for it to have vitality, reality, and substance. [Henry Bellamann] Sometimes people get the
- [Emotion](https://www.thisisourstory.net/emotion-2/) - As the midbrain develops, we begin to experience emotions. Our emotions are processed in the center of our brains, and are central to our lives. The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, but just felt within the heart. [Helen Keller.] It was a summer of limitless bites,Of
- [Honoring Uniqueness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/honoring-uniqueness/) - No two people are exactly alike. . . . you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else. [attributed to Margaret Mead] What you have, what you are - your looks, your personality, your way of thinking - is unique. No one in the world is like you. So capitalize on it. [Jack Lord] You have
- [Longevity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/longevity/) - People prefer life over death, unless other preferences are unfulfilled to such an extent that living is no longer preferable. To sustain longevity, you have to evolve. [Aries Spears] If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if
- [Being Serene](https://www.thisisourstory.net/serenity/) - Serenity is a sustained state of inner peace. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. [attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr] Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance. [attribution unknown] “Serenity has been defined as a
- [Satisfaction](https://www.thisisourstory.net/satisfaction/) - Satisfaction of material needs is preferable to want/deprivation. When a man's stomach is full it makes no difference whether he is rich or poor. [attributed to Euripides] May the roof over your head always be strong. [Irish blessing] If all the needs are unsatisfied, and the organism is then dominated by the physiological needs, all
- [Health](https://www.thisisourstory.net/health/) - People prefer health over illness. It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. [attributed to Mahatma Gandhi] Health is not valued till sickness comes. [attributed to Thomas Fuller] You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in. [Dr. Seuss] Health is what allows living organisms to function
- [Being Non-malevolent](https://www.thisisourstory.net/non-malevolence/) - The emotional component of non-harm (ahimsa) is non-malevolence. Long before we get to Love, we may have to rid ourselves of any malevolent feelings. These are unhealthy emotional states toward others, or toward the self. The essential emotion at the first level in the development of interpersonal relationships is the absence of malevolent intent. Conceptually,
- [Triumph](https://www.thisisourstory.net/triumph/) - Here, triumph refers to a way of looking at things. It is a way of continuing your celebration, and you can do it alone. The harder the struggle, the more glorious the triumph. Self-realization demands very great struggle. [attributed to Swami Sivananda] It's okay to lose. Losing teaches you something. Having to try and going
- [Living with Meaning](https://www.thisisourstory.net/meaning/) - If life had no meaning, nothing would matter to us. Meaning is an extension of and a way of looking at our preferences and desires. It is essential to well-being. Man, the bravest animal and most prone to suffer, does not deny suffering as such: he wills it, he even seeks it out, provided he
- [Human Worth](https://www.thisisourstory.net/human-worth/) - Why does life mean anything? Our lives have meaning because we experience them – we are aware, each of us. That is where morality, ethics and all our values begin. Our ideas about right and wrong, good and evil, what we want and what we do not want, all begin with valuers – with us.
- [Being Passionate](https://www.thisisourstory.net/passion/) - Passion is the power behind Love. My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. [attributed to Maya Angelou] If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins. [Benjamin Franklin] Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of
- [Championing Children](https://www.thisisourstory.net/children/) - Children represent the future. Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society. [attributed to Maria Montessori] I consider early childhood events as most essential to a man's scientific and philosophical development. [attributed to Konrad Lorenz] It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. [attributed to Frederick Douglass] ***
- [Cultivating and Nurturing Self-Esteem](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-esteem/) - Self-esteem (how do I feel about myself?) Women with low self-esteem love bad boys. Women who have work to do love bad boys. Women who love themselves love good men. [attributed to Tracy McMillan] The biggest thing you can give a kid is self-esteem, so that they're not shy to do different things. [Magnus Scheving]
- [Being Stable and Constant](https://www.thisisourstory.net/stability/) - Healthy stability, which is not excessive or rigid, is an important part of good order. Housing is stability. Housing is dignity. Housing is absolutely necessary, critical infrastructure. [Raphael Warnock] There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers. [attributed to Deborah Norville] Law is
- [Concentrating](https://www.thisisourstory.net/concentrating/) - Concentrating is an aspect of order in the domain of thinking. I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time. [attributed to Charles Dickens] My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things
- [Being Selfless](https://www.thisisourstory.net/selflessness/) - Being about more than the self pulls people together, and makes orderly societies possible. True love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice. [attributed to Sadhu Vaswani] A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just tries to give back as much as possible and help people. A hero to
- [Executing - Keeping Commitments](https://www.thisisourstory.net/execution-commitment/) - Building on our willingness, rationality, efforts, intentions and ideas, we can effectively act. You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. [attributed to Henry Ford] Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work. [attributed to Stephen King] An intention and an idea
- [Forming Intention - Making Commitments](https://www.thisisourstory.net/intention/) - Forming intention and making commitments cuts across the domains of emotion and thinking. Once we act on our commitments, we are in the domain of action. We either live with intention or exist by default. [attributed to Kristin Armstrong] When you left the house today, you had the intention of putting clothes on and you
- [Narratives](https://www.thisisourstory.net/challenging/) - Humans are storytellers. Storytelling appears to be closely related to and well-explained by our evolutionary history. . . . storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it . . . [Hannah Arendt] The most amazing thing for me is that every single person who sees a movie . . . brings a whole
- [Seeking and Finding Common Ground](https://www.thisisourstory.net/common-ground/) - Acknowledging the humanity of others leads us onto common ground. If we could but recognize our common humanity, that we do belong together, that our destinies are bound up in one another's, that we can be free only together, that we can be human only together, then a glorious world would come into being where
- [Respecting People](https://www.thisisourstory.net/respecting-worth/) - To respect people is to acknowledge their humanity or admirable personal qualities. We don't need to share the same opinions as others, but we need to be respectful. [Taylor Swift] One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say. [attributed to Bryant H. McGill] Let every man
- [Sex and Gender Inclusion](https://www.thisisourstory.net/gender/) - The two sexes make the human world go ‘round but too often we allow sex and gender to divide us. Greater knowledge, and a better understanding of the science, history, literature and art about sex and gender can help us live more ethically, more fully, and shape a better world. Though numerically in the majority
- [Being Determined, Steadfast](https://www.thisisourstory.net/determination-2/) - Being determined is holding fast, pursuing dreams and goals despite obstacles and setbacks. A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. [attributed to Colin Powell] The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination. [attributed to Tommy Lasorda] Determination gives you the resolve to keep
- [Freedom of Expression](https://www.thisisourstory.net/freedom-of-expression/) - Freedom to express ourselves as we choose is essential to ethics and democracy. If you're in favor of freedom of speech, that means you're in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise. [Noam Chomsky] Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech. [Silence Dogood,
- [Negotiations and Other Interactions](https://www.thisisourstory.net/negotiations-interactions/) - All relationships involve negotiations. Everything is a negotiation. Everything is a little bit of give and take. [attributed to Lamman Rucker] Successful negotiation is not about getting to “yes”; it's about mastering 'no' and understanding what the path to an agreement is. [attributed to Christopher Voss] Any negotiation involves compromise and no one will get
- [Being in Reverie](https://www.thisisourstory.net/reverie/) - Reverie is a dreamy or musing state; a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts. When we calm ourselves emotionally and mentally, we allow our minds to engage in the relaxing play called reverie. When we let go, we might experience reverie at its fullest. . . . sit in reverie and watch the
- [Forgiving](https://www.thisisourstory.net/forgiving/) - Forgiving is letting go of what binds us to the past in unhealthy ways. The Amish made it look simple. Ten of their precious little girls had been shot . . . . (They) enfolded their grief within their normal circle of prayer and daily communion. They didn't speak out. They looked within. They did
- [Making Distinctions](https://www.thisisourstory.net/distinctions/) - By making distinctions, we identify things in contrast to other things. . . . the distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. [Albert Einstein] I don't make a particular distinction between “high art” and “low art.” Music is there for everybody. It's a river we can all put our
- [Being Rational](https://www.thisisourstory.net/rationality/) - Before we can be reasonable, we must be rational. This is the level-one value in our relations to the world. It precedes reason, which is at level two. Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think. [variously phrased, and
- [Being Willing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/willingness/) - In the emotions, the first step toward accomplishing anything is being willing. This is far more basic than being eager or enthusiastic. We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. [Anonymous; often incorrectly attributed to Plato.] Knowing that
- [Tolerating - Being Civil](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tolerance/) - Sometimes, before we care about other people or love them, we must learn to tolerate them. This is only a first step, at level one of ethical attainment/development. Socially and culturally, tolerance is a necessary first step toward peace. Tolerance is the first principle of community; it is the spirit which conserves the best that
- [The Material World; The Physical Body](https://www.thisisourstory.net/material-world-physical-body/) - Our spirits may run free but that is only a way of looking at life. We inhabit physical bodies, which break down, in a physical world, does not always conform to our desires. Philosophy is the history of a deaf-blind person writ large. From the talks of Socrates up through Plato, Berkeley and Kant, philosophy
- [Evil](https://www.thisisourstory.net/evil/) - Evil is whatever denigrates human worth, seen as broadly as we can. When they were in the field Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. [The Bible, Genesis 4:8.] We will be greatly misled if we feel that the problem will work itself out. Structures of evil do not crumble by passive waiting. If
- [Happiness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/happiness/) - People prefer happiness over unhappiness. How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive of all they do, and of all they are willing to endure. [William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lectures IV and V (1901-1902).] Certainly most of us
- [Acting to Alleviate Suffering](https://www.thisisourstory.net/alleviation-of-suffering/) - Responding to suffering is natural, and ethical. The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don’t listen to it, you will never know what justice is. [Howard Zinn, quoting an anonymous source] For me, an area of moral clarity is: you're in front of someone who's suffering and you have the
- [Living Life As an Invitation - Acting Purposefully](https://www.thisisourstory.net/humanity-humanness/) - After we have learned to think, we can act rationally and purposefully. Our development has put us in a position to affect our lives, the lives of others and the course of the world. We can see this as a burden, or as an invitation to the grand dance of human life. Come with me,
- [Advocating - Championing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/advocacy/) - Advocating on someone’s behalf - championing them - is a way of standing up. All advocacy is, at its core, an exercise in empathy. [attributed to Samantha Power] I'm not running from the left; I'm running from the bottom. I'm running in fierce advocacy for working-class Americans. [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] I'm passionate about people. I've spent
- [Being Fair](https://www.thisisourstory.net/fairness/) - Considering the interests of others, not merely our own interests, and acting on that consideration, is an early step toward justice, commonly called being fair. Man was born free; but everywhere he is in chains. [Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book I, Part 1: Origins and Terms of the Social Contract.] Most people would
- [Restraining Self](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-restraint/) - Not doing ill is a first step toward doing good. Self-restraint is the avoidance of harmful actions, as expressed by "thou shalt not kill." Strict pacifists are committed to following this rule to the letter. Most people follow a looser interpretation of the idea, which allows harm to be done in the interests of justice,
- [Acknowledging the Humanity of Others](https://www.thisisourstory.net/acknowledging/) - To be ethical, we must first acknowledge that other people are human, as we are. This is the “thinking” component of ahimsa. If we could but recognize our common humanity, that we do belong together, that our destinies are bound up in one another's, that we can be free only together, that we can be
- [Living a Sacred Life](https://www.thisisourstory.net/sacredness/) - We return to where we began. The sacred resides in the intrinsic worth of every living being. A man is ethical only when life, as such, is sacred to him, that of plants and animals as that of his fellow men, and when he devotes himself helpfully to all life that is in need of
- [Avoiding Harm](https://www.thisisourstory.net/avoiding-harm/) - The first of four levels of ethical development is the do-no-harm, or “thou shalt not” stage. We come to the first fleshing out of our relationships with others. As in medicine, the first rule is to do no harm. The global state of harmlessness consists of acknowledging the humanity of others, an absence of malevolent
- [Being Patient](https://www.thisisourstory.net/patience/) - Patience is humility in the dimension of time. . . . adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience. [Ralph Waldo Emerson] Every man must patiently bide his time. He must wait -- not in listless idleness but in constant, steady, cheerful endeavors, always willing and fulfilling and accomplishing his task, that when the
- [Using Intuition and Common Sense](https://www.thisisourstory.net/intuition-common-sense/) - The human mind calculates many complex phenomena in an instant. The intuition of the moral sentiment is an insight of the perfection of the laws of the soul. These laws execute themselves. They are out of time, out of space, and not subject to circumstance. [Ralph Waldo Emerson] There is no logical way to the
- [Trusting](https://www.thisisourstory.net/trust/) - Like Faith, trust can be seen as a belief, or as an action. The essential nature of action is especially obvious with trust: if we say that we trust but do not act accordingly, then trust probably is not present. Trust is the glue of life. It's the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It's
- [Symbolic Thinking; Abstract Reasoning](https://www.thisisourstory.net/symbolic-abstract/) - Numbers are symbols. Every building plan is a symbolic representation. At another level, there are abstract and realistic forms of art - fundamentally, both are abstract. Artists have a unique ability to paint the world, and to help people see injustice. They do it not with guns, but with pens and guitars and paintbrushes. [Teresa
- [Exercising Sound Judgment and Discretion](https://www.thisisourstory.net/judgment-discretion/) - Wise people exercise sound judgment. Judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment. [variously phrased and variously attributed] Foreign policy exactly suits Obama's strong points as a leader, which turn out not to be giving the masses a clear sense of direction and hope, but instead exercising good judgment on a case-by-case basis
- [Being Wise](https://www.thisisourstory.net/wisdom/) - Wisdom is a complex human trait, characterized by a marriage of the intellect with the emotions, and put into action. By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. [attributed to Confucius] The saddest aspect of life
- [Developing, Encouraging and Promoting Self-Awareness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-awareness/) - Humans are aware of themselves at a level and to a degree not seen in any other species. The human child progressively becomes self-aware during the first four or five years of life. This self-awareness is the cornerstone of the intellectual component of self-worth. If your emotional abilities aren't in hand, if you don't have
- [Being Sincere](https://www.thisisourstory.net/sincerity/) - Sincerity is the emotional component of honesty - the desire to be honest. Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite. [attributed to Charles Spurgeon] . . . for a creative writer possession of the “truth” is less important than emotional sincerity. [George Orwell] I suppose my
- [Being Fully Engaged](https://www.thisisourstory.net/engagement/) - Being fully engaged goes far beyond stepping out into the world. The difference between the two is like the difference between dipping a toe into water, and jumping headlong into it. This is the real secret of life - to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead
- [Investigating - Experimenting](https://www.thisisourstory.net/investigation-experimentation/) - Curiosity and inquisitiveness lead us into the domain of action, where we investigate and experiment. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. [Ralph Waldo Emerson] No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong. [attributed to Albert Einstein] Despite advances achieved through objective
- [Working](https://www.thisisourstory.net/work/) - To survive, at least some of us must work. The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. [attributed to Vince Lombardi] The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today. [Elbert Hubbard] All life demands struggle. Those who have everything given to them become lazy, selfish, and insensitive
- [Being Resourceful and Innovative - Discovering and Inventing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/resourcefulness-innovation/) - Innovation is the final test of creativity. It is creativity in action, with results. Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse. [Winston Churchill] A noble purpose inspires sacrifice, stimulates innovation and encourages perseverance. [attributed to Gary Hamel] Any good music must be an innovation. [attributed
- [Being Creative](https://www.thisisourstory.net/creativity/) - Creativity is an engine of life, which supplies power to drive forward. Anybody can play weird, that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated simple—awesomely simple—that’s creativity. [Charles Mingus] Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. [attributed to Erich Fromm] Creativity
- [Forbearing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/forbearing/) - In the domain of action, an essential first step is doing nothing, when that is the best we can do. If anyone who has been once or twice warned remains obdurate, do not argue with him . . . [attributed to Thomas à Kempis,] During the next half-century, and more, the Negro must continue passing
- [Being Well-Rounded and Eclectic](https://www.thisisourstory.net/well-rounded/) - Versatility in life, as well as in a calling or profession, is an important value. Only a well-rounded intellect, a spirit nourished in the eternal sources of intelligence and culture, of justice and wisdom, is a safeguard against both indifference and skepticism. [Ameen Rihani] Education helps you to be a well-rounded person, period. It teaches
- [Unifying](https://www.thisisourstory.net/unification/) - Unification is about bringing people together in harmony. It is also about bringing the elements of life and self together in harmony. . . . if you realize all the time what's kind of wonderful - that is, if we expand our experience into wilder and wilder regions of experience - every once in a
- [Tradition](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tradition/) - Tradition is a practice or set of practices within a society or culture. Its value is similar to that of ritual. It can contribute to stability but it can also lead to a loss of individual freedom. Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse. [Winston
- [Being Grateful](https://www.thisisourstory.net/gratefulness-2/) - Gratitude is one part of a holy trinity of what is desired. Faith is in the present, hope looks to the future, and gratefulness looks to the past. I don't have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it's right in front of me if I'm paying attention and practicing gratitude. [Brené Brown] We
- [Being Skeptical, Entertaining Doubt, Embracing Uncertainty and Ambiguity: Being Intellectually Humble](https://www.thisisourstory.net/skepticism-doubt-intellectual-humility/) - We do not know everything. Awareness of this fact is an important first step in the intellectual domain. The psychic task which a person can and must set for himself, is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity, without panic and undue fear. [Erich Fromm] Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than
- [Being Inquisitive: Seeking Knowledge - Pursuing the Religious Quest](https://www.thisisourstory.net/inquisitiveness/) - Our natural curiosity, underlain with humility, leads us to seek knowledge – not to claim to own it. When you are inquisitive, Jane, you always make me smile. You open your eyes like an eager bird, and make every now and then a restless movement, as if answers in speech did not flow fast enough
- [Thinking Critically](https://www.thisisourstory.net/critical-thinking/) - Humans are naturally inclined to believe what we read, and accept what we are told. Critical thinkers are less likely to do that, and more likely to consider claims independently. Critical thinking is the most important factor with chess. As it is in life, you need to think before you make decisions. [attributed to Hikaru
- [Being Modest](https://www.thisisourstory.net/modesty/) - Being unassuming and moderate in the estimation of one’s abilities is an essential component of being humble. Modesty is mainly in the domain of emotion. The houses are haunted / By white night-gowns. / None are green, / Or purple with green rings, / Or green with yellow rings, / Or yellow with blue rings.
- [Admiring](https://www.thisisourstory.net/admiring/) - To admire someone is to see qualities in her that you do not have, or have as much of, in yourself. To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind. [attributed to Theophile Gautier] Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you
- [Being Publicly Involved through Activism](https://www.thisisourstory.net/activism/) - Great leaders are activists. Some say we should not engage in activism. Instead we should leave everything to our politicians and just vote for a change instead. But what do we do when there is no political will? What do we do when the politics needed are nowhere in sight? [Greta Thunburg] My activism did
- [Being Self-actualized](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-actualization-self-realization/) - Being self-actualized - being all that we can be and are best suited to be - is a measure of living ethically. It is one way of looking at the supreme aim of living. A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be at peace with
- [Honoring Value](https://www.thisisourstory.net/honoring-value/) - We might honor someone’s value by openly appreciating them, praising them, promoting them, or paying them. Recognition is a reward in itself. Any form of appreciation, even a small word, is important. [attributed to Vikrant Massey] The greatest award is the appreciation of the people. [attributed to Gopi Sundar] We honor a person's value by
- [Seeing and Approaching Things from Many Perspectives](https://www.thisisourstory.net/perspective/) - There are many ways to see things. Every reasonable perspective adds a dimension to understanding and appreciation. As with focus, perspective can be seen in space, in time, or in both. To see a world in a grain of sand / And heaven in a wild flower / To hold eternity in the palm of
- [Encouraging - Offering Reassurance](https://www.thisisourstory.net/encouraging/) - A boost of encouragement can make the difference between action and inaction, or a poor outcome versus a good outcome, or a good outcome versus a great outcome. When my mother or my grandmother tried to keep me from climbing too high, my grandfather would say, “Let the kid walk on the wall. He’s got
- [Appreciating Humor](https://www.thisisourstory.net/humor/) - Humor is a relief, a release from what is trapped within. Good humor frees us to Be more fully - to confront life’s harsh realities by stepping away from them for awhile. Laughter is the shortest distance between two people. [attributed to Victor Borge] Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool
- [Cycles - Seasons](https://www.thisisourstory.net/cycles-seasons/) - Life is cyclical. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity . . . [The Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:1.] Everything has seasons, and we have to be able to recognize when something's time has passed and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires pruning as well,
- [Zest, the Spice of Life: Opening to Horizons](https://www.thisisourstory.net/zest/) - On a citrus fruit, the zest is the outer covering that adds flavor. In life, zest refers to a sense of opening to possibilities – taking advantage of what life has to offer. What I'm proposing, to myself and other people, is what I often call the tourist attitude - that you act as though
- [Being Joyful](https://www.thisisourstory.net/joy/) - Joy is a powerful sense of happiness. Joy, bright spark of divinity, daughter of Elysium, fire-inspired we tread thy sanctuary. Thy magic power re-unites all that custom has divided, all men become brothers under the sway of thy gentle wings. [Friedrich von Schiller, “Ode to Joy"] One joy scatters a hundred griefs. [Chinese proverb] I
- [Being Humble](https://www.thisisourstory.net/humility/) - Armed with a concept of justice based and centered on human worth and dignity, and aware of suffering and evil, we can begin to build a sound and enduring ethical system. Humility is an essential first step. Humility -- true humility -- is one of the most expansive and life-enhancing of all virtues. It does
- [Choosing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/choosing/) - Choices are made real through action. Ethics, morality, religion, spirituality and all our laws and decisions are products of choice. We may indeed in counsel point to the higher road, but we cannot compel any free creature to walk upon it. That leadeth to tyranny, which disfigureth good and maketh it seem hateful. [J.R.R. Tolkien,
- [Being Versatile](https://www.thisisourstory.net/versatility/) - Versatility is the ability to do many different - a wide variety of - things. After having played serious drama for so long, I needed to scratch the itch of versatility. [attributed to Noah Wyle] I love ensemble pieces, I love being a part of the entire tapestry of a piece, but I think character
- [Agape](https://www.thisisourstory.net/caring/) - Agape is love for all people. . . . agape understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all (people). An overflowing love which seeks nothing in return . . . [Martin Luther King, Jr.] There must be a stronger foundation than mere friendship or sexual attraction. Unconditional love, agape love, will not be swayed by time
- [Displaying Courage](https://www.thisisourstory.net/courage/) - Courage is an action taken at risk to the self. It is the active component of dignity. All of the elements of dignity – wisdom, caring and courage - are ego-transcendent, and lead to spiritual development. Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. [Mark Twain] I learned that courage was
- [Being Honest](https://www.thisisourstory.net/honesty/) - Honesty is a rudimentary part of order. We learned about honesty and integrity - that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square. [Michelle Obama] . . . honesty is the 1st chapter in the book
- [Being Authentic](https://www.thisisourstory.net/authenticity/) - To be our best selves, we must be who we are - we must be authentic. What does one person give to another? He gives of himself, the most precious he has. . . . he gives him of that which is alive in him; he gives him of his joy, of his interest, of
- [Being Scrupulous, Yet Flexible](https://www.thisisourstory.net/scrupulousness-flexibility/) - Ideals frequently are in conflict with practical realities. Try as we might to hold fast to our principles, there are times for compromise and flexibility. There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach
- [Championing Civil Rights](https://www.thisisourstory.net/civil-rights/) - Civil rights are a beginning in the struggle toward justice. The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. [Martin Luther King, Jr., rephrasing a sentence in a sermon by Theodore Parker (1853): “I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches
- [Being and Setting a Good Example; Being a Role Model and Mentor](https://www.thisisourstory.net/exemplars/) - Seeing and being in the presence of good behavior provides an important ethical tool. Like its politicians and its wars, society has the teenagers it deserves. [attributed to J.B. Priestly] There's room for role models who make mistakes. [attributed to Taylor Swift] Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes,
- [Serving](https://www.thisisourstory.net/service/) - Living in service to others reflects a high state of ethical attainment. Every minute of every hour of every day you are making the world, just as you are making yourself, and you might as well do it with generosity and kindness and style. [Rebecca Solnit] True generosity is an offering; given freely and out
- [Preserving and Stewarding Nature](https://www.thisisourstory.net/preservingstewarding-nature/) - Nature cannot protect itself against the ravages of greed. He who plants a tree plants a hope. [Lucy Larcom] One planet, one experiment. [Edward O. Wilson] Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not. [Dr. Seuss] We owe a great debt to those who have worked
- [Keeping Eyes On the Prize](https://www.thisisourstory.net/eyes-on-the-prize/) - We further empower ourselves by identifying our goals clearly, and focusing on them. People may have goals but if they are scattered in their intention, those goals will be harder to realize. Keeping one's eye on the prize refers to focusing on one's dreams, or goals.
- [Reflecting - Contemplating](https://www.thisisourstory.net/reflection/) - To reflect is to look at life in a mirror - to look at life again in another way. Give yourself a gift of five minutes of contemplation in awe of everything you see around you. Go outside and turn your attention to the many miracles around you. This five-minute-a-day regimen of appreciation and gratitude
- [Developing, Encouraging and Promoting Self-Respect](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-respect/) - To respect is to look upon, so self-respect is a measure of how a person sees herself. It includes an emotional component, which is predominant in any gestalt view of a person. Self-respect is essential to personal health, growth and maturity. Everyone in society should be a role model, not only for their own self-respect,
- [Depth - Being Deeply Perceptive](https://www.thisisourstory.net/perceptiondepth/) - . . . to see deeply into the facts . . . There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception. [this is a paraphrase of a statement that has had a variety of meanings] Comprehension follows perception. [attributed to Philip K. Dick] A primary function of
- [Celebrating](https://www.thisisourstory.net/celebrating/) - Life is ours to enjoy. The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. [widely attributed to Oprah Winfrey] I think people in Italy live their lives better than we do. It's an older country, and they've learned to celebrate dinner and lunch, whereas we sort of eat
- [Being Cheerful](https://www.thisisourstory.net/cheerfulness/) - Cheerfulness is one of hope’s many companions. Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance - the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it; better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen. [attributed to Thomas Carlyle] I am determined to be cheerful and happy in
- [Exploring](https://www.thisisourstory.net/exploring/) - Exploring is journeying in the domain of purposeful action. We can stand in awe, or sit and wonder; when we explore, we make life’s journey more complete. In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration. [attributed to Ansel Adams] I'm a storyteller; that's what exploration really is
- [Sharing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/sharing/) - There is no justice without sharing, for justice is about more than the self. Imagine all the people Sharing all the world . . . [John Lennon] Fine sermons have been preached on the text that those who have should share with those who have not, but he who would act out this principle is
- [Being Objective and Realistic](https://www.thisisourstory.net/objectivity-realism/) - Being objective and realistic is a basic building block of an individual’s being just. It operates mainly in the intellectual/thinking domain. . . . in justice the same cases should be decided in the same way . . . By taking your own immediate interest and their animosity as the test of justice, you will
- [Equal Opportunity - Opportunity In Fact - Economic Justice](https://www.thisisourstory.net/equal-opportunity/) - In a world of limits, in which everyone seeks his own welfare, an equal chance for everyone is an essential part of justice. It must be a real and practical chance, not merely a theoretical chance within the confines of an imperfect system. To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.
- [Being Heroic](https://www.thisisourstory.net/heroism/) - A hero brings salvation or deliverance, of a kind, through exceptional acts - often, acts of courage. I couldn't say no to A. Philip Randolph and no to Martin Luther King, Jr. These two men, I loved them, I admired them, and they were my heroes. [attributed to John Lewis] . . . the greatest
- [Being in the Here and Now](https://www.thisisourstory.net/here-now/) - Now is the only time, and here is the only place, you can ever do anything. All productive actions, including times of productive rest and restoration, are carried out in the here and now. Every breath you take is in the now, where you are. Though thou shouldst be going to live three thousand years,
- [Living Justly; Championing Justice](https://www.thisisourstory.net/justice/) - Honoring intrinsic worth, universally applied, yields justice. (1 + 1 =2.) This is the core principle of the values system and religion presented herein. In this view, justice is not about evening a score or gratuitously punishing anyone. It is about affirming our lives in the broadest view possible. Everything that follows on these pages
- [Being Sensitive](https://www.thisisourstory.net/sensitivity-2/) - Sensitivity is an art we can cultivate. It allows us to appreciate others more deeply, and thereby activate the Truth force. We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain. [Alan Watts] Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears. [Edgar Allan Poe] I
- [Understanding](https://www.thisisourstory.net/understanding/) - “Understanding” refers to the thinking component of empathy. It is the next step beyond acknowledging another's humanity. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. [Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird - Atticus
- [Finding and Having Meaning in Life](https://www.thisisourstory.net/meaning-2/) - Perhaps the main factor that creates meaning is a sense of connection - an essential part of spirituality. A soul that is kind and intends justice discovers more than any sophist. [Widely attributed to Sophocles] The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. [Oprah Winfrey] And what about all
- [Racial and Ethnic Inclusion](https://www.thisisourstory.net/racial-ethnic-inclusion/) - Race and ethnicity play no meaningful role in our character, and none at all in our intrinsic worth. Yet they have long divided us. Greater knowledge, and a better understanding of the science, history, literature and art about race and ethnicity can help us live more ethically, more fully, and shape a better world. Race
- [Guiding](https://www.thisisourstory.net/guidance/) - To guide, to teach, to re-direct, to discipline – these may not be as satisfying emotionally as comforting but when properly done, they are essential. Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction. [attributed to Anne Sullivan] Democracy cannot survive without the guidance of a creative minority. [attributed to Harlan Stone] Guidance is to
- [Appreciating Ritual](https://www.thisisourstory.net/ritual/) - Practiced with a sound sense of proportion, rituals convey both social and personal benefits. I'm in awe of the universe, but I don't necessarily believe there's an intelligence or agent behind it. I do have a passion for the visual in religious rituals, though, even though they may be completely empty and bereft of substance.
- [Developing, Encouraging and Promoting Self-Competence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-competence/) - Self-competence (do I act so as to express self-worth?) If you hear a voice within you saying, “You are not a painter,” then by all means paint, boy, and that voice will be silenced . . . [Vincent van Gogh] Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment. [attributed to Thomas Carlyle] Self-competence is “a sense
- [Being Spontaneous](https://www.thisisourstory.net/spontaneity/) - Humans create in the moment. Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. [attributed to Lao Tzu, perhaps falsely] Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or
- [Autonomic Action](https://www.thisisourstory.net/action/) - The next step after the emergence of the cell is autonomic action. Single-celled organisms are active, after a fashion. Ants are living action machines, with no brains to process feeling as we understand it. Our autonomic actions, such as breathing and heartbeat, predicate what follows. Life invites us to act. Most of us work or
- [Being Witty](https://www.thisisourstory.net/wit/) - Wit is the art of cutting succinctly to the truth. Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which, before their union, were not perceived to have any relation. [Mark Twain] Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food. [William Hazlitt] Wit ought to be a glorious treat like caviar; never spread it about like
- [Life](https://www.thisisourstory.net/life/) - A Humanist ethics respects life, yet distinguishes between life's mechanics and the Spirit of Being. Life is the vehicle and animating force of soul and spirit, not posited here as separate entities, but as part of the human experience. In describing an "animating force," I make no pretense of resolving the ongoing debate about what
- [Preparing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/preparation/) - We prepare so that we can be ready for what comes next. By failing to prepare, you're preparing to fail. [variously phrased, by several people] He who is best prepared can best serve his moment of inspiration. [attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge] Medical doctors may spend a decade in medical school, residency, and fellowship before
- [Diversity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/diversity/) - Over millions of years, evolution has produced millions of species. A decline in the number of species signals a problem. The value of biodiversity is that it makes our ecosystems more resilient, which is a prerequisite for stable societies; its wanton destruction is akin to setting fire to our lifeboat. [attributed to Johan Rockstrom] When
- [Flourishing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/flourishing/) - Flourishing consists of positive emotion, meaning, engagement, healthy relationships, and accomplishment - the success of a life well lived. The acronym is “PERMA”. This is the characterizing feature of Nettle’s third and ultimate level of happiness. Don't focus on negative things; focus on the positive, and you will flourish. [attributed to Alek Wek] Human well-being
- [Environment](https://www.thisisourstory.net/environment/) - Environment refers to everything from home and family to the world. The environment is everything that isn't me. [attributed to Albert Einstein] The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself. [attributed to Mark Caine] Be a yardstick of quality. Some
- [Intimacy](https://www.thisisourstory.net/intimacy/) - Intimacy reaches deep within, and simultaneously outward to another. It is transcendent in its depth. Those who have never known the deep intimacy and the intense companionship of mutual love have missed the best thing that life has to give. [Bertrand Russell] For me, it's the ultimate to be able to nurture and nourish someone.
- [Solitude](https://www.thisisourstory.net/solitude/) - Solitude is a state of being alone, in a state of peace and contentment. Even love is reborn in solitude. For only in solitude are those who are alone able to reach those from whom they are separated. Only the presence of the eternal can break through the walls that isolate the temporal from the
- [Thinking, Feeling, Acting (opportunities and obstacles)](https://www.thisisourstory.net/think-feel-act-week-of-obstacles/) - Every mental operation, in any of the three domains of being, is potentially an obstacle to growth, and an opportunity for it. Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. [John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (1971), Chapter I] There's no "should" or "should not" when it comes
- [Beliefs and Convictions](https://www.thisisourstory.net/beliefs-convictions/) - A conviction is a strong belief, reaching more fully beyond thinking into emotion. Of course, beliefs too are influenced by emotion. Mainly, though, both are in the domain of thinking. We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon. [Franklin D.
- [Awakening](https://www.thisisourstory.net/awakening-2/) - When we awaken, we see the world in a new way. That is the real spiritual awakening, when something emerges from within you that is deeper than who you thought you were. So, the person is still there, but one could almost say that something more powerful shines through the person. [attributed to Eckhart Tolle]
- [Being Responsible](https://www.thisisourstory.net/responsibility/) - Responsibility is about shouldering basic responsibilities of life, for the benefit of others. Think of parents, spouses, and service workers. You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all
- [Fulfilling Duty toward Others](https://www.thisisourstory.net/duty-toward-others/) - A core commitment to everyone’s intrinsic worth implies duties to other people - to other living beings. We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom
- [Being Competent](https://www.thisisourstory.net/competence/) - Competence represents the second level of development in our relations to the material/conceptual world. Basically, to lead without a title is to derive your power within the organisation not from your position but from your competence, effectiveness, relationships, excellence, innovation and ethics. [attributed to Robin S. Sharma] Whether it's a car or boat or motorcycle,
- [Reasoning](https://www.thisisourstory.net/reason/) - Reason is a level beyond rationality. To understand the world is never a matter of simply recording our immediate perceptions. Understanding inescapably involves reasoning. [Amartya Sen, The Idea of Justice, Preface] When (the philosopher) is actively thinking, his life is no longer human. He has transcended (if only for a while) the sphere of human
- [Meeting Obligations in the World](https://www.thisisourstory.net/obligation-in-the-world/) - A core commitment to honoring everyone’s intrinsic worth implies obligations in our material/conceptual relations. These include taking an interest, reasoning, and working. . . . every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation, every possession, a duty. [John D. Rockefeller] Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions. [Edward R. Murrow] You
- [Pushing Through Your Resistance](https://www.thisisourstory.net/pushing-through-your-resistance/) - When you feel yourself running from a challenge, turn around and run into it. Make it a point to do something every day that you don’t want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain. [Mark Twain] You must do the thing you think you cannot
- [Championing a Bright Future](https://www.thisisourstory.net/future/) - Concern for the future is essential to the survival of every cognitive species. It is a core part of our evolutionary make-up. What we owe future generations is the subject of growing debate by economists, philosophers, ethicists, public policymakers, and academics of all stripes. But for me as a mother, the moral implications are very
- [Agency](https://www.thisisourstory.net/agency/) - Agency is the ability to make choices as an act of will. You are free to choose what you want to make of your life. It's called free agency or free will . . . [Sean Covey] Growing up with my mum, often I'd be the only person at home. She would spend a lot
- [Grace: Talent, Bounty, Intellect, Disposition](https://www.thisisourstory.net/talent-2/) - GRACE is a desirable entity that we have but did nothing to earn. Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life. [attributed to John Updike] Grace is not part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason. [Pope
- [Developing, Encouraging and Promoting Independence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/independence/) - No one is completely independent but most people learn to fend for themselves instead of their parents or other caretaker. Becoming independent, or self-sufficient, is an important part of a responsible life. Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society
- [Protecting](https://www.thisisourstory.net/protection/) - Sometimes, we need to be protected. Sometimes, our job is to protect others from harm. The only way you can enter is if you kill me first . . . [Hawa Abdi] I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. [Sigmund Freud] We in the United
- [Displaying Vision](https://www.thisisourstory.net/vision/) - People who see far and wide, in time and space, are valuable assets to societies. It's time for political leaders across the ideological spectrum to realize that, while partisanship is understandable, hyper-partisanship is destructive to our country. We need more visionary leaders who will earnestly strive for bipartisanship and finding policy solutions that can move
- [Living in Positive Emotion](https://www.thisisourstory.net/positive-emotion/) - Having a good and healthy outlook on life is an essential element of living well. Positive emotions, such as hope, interest, joy, love, compassion, pride, amusement, and gratitude, set a tone for our lives. Whatever circumstances may surround us, if we can live with positive emotion, we can be happy and we can encourage others.
- [Planning](https://www.thisisourstory.net/planning/) - Our human capacity to plan makes much of the good in our lives and our societies possible. Planning can be for good or for ill. It is a component of autonomy in the domain of thinking. Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. [attributed to Winston Churchill] Being busy does not always mean
- [Well-being - Fulfillment](https://www.thisisourstory.net/fulfillment/) - People prefer fulfillment over emptiness of the soul. Fulfillment, sometimes called eudaimonic happiness, or subjective well-being is primarily an emotion, secondarily a thought, and it reaches into the domain of action. It is distinguished from happiness in that it reaches into these other domains besides emotion. On these grounds, we could say that it is
- [Preferences - Desire](https://www.thisisourstory.net/preferences-desire/) - Without desire, we would care about nothing. All values systems rely on valuers, and our preferences. Desires/preferences are to values as cells are to organisms. Pan came out of the woods one day,– / His skin and his hair and his eyes were gray, / The gray of the moss of walls were they,– /
- [Being Altruistic](https://www.thisisourstory.net/altruism/) - Doing for others is the essence of interpersonal ethics. . . . every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. [Martin Luther King, Jr.] Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. [Richard Dawkins] Individual-versus-group selection results
- [Being Comprehensive](https://www.thisisourstory.net/comprehensiveness/) - There is no precision without comprehensiveness - things would be missing. No fairer destiny could be allotted to any physical theory than that it should itself point the way to a more comprehensive theory, in which it lives on as a limiting case. [Albert Einstein] There is an immense, painful longing for a broader, more
- [Discontent](https://www.thisisourstory.net/discontent/) - From dissatisfaction arises change. Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure. [Thomas A. Edison] Freedom, "that terrible word inscribed on the chariot of the storm," is the motivating principle of all revolutions. Without it, justice seems inconceivable to
- [Being Open-minded](https://www.thisisourstory.net/open-mind/) - An open mind receives objective information, which can counteract subjective biases. When the facts change, I change my opinion. What do you do, sir? [attributed to John Maynard Keynes] A truly open mind means forcing our imaginations to conform to the evidence of reality, and not vice versa, whether or not we like the implications.
- [Being Gentle](https://www.thisisourstory.net/gentleness/) - We are not each other’s masters. Being committed to honoring everyone requires a gentle approach to life. Mister Rogers was an ordained minister but he never talked about God on his program. He didn't need to. [Tom Brokaw] Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength. [Francis de Sales] In the
- [Equal Rights and Protection of Law](https://www.thisisourstory.net/equal-rights-protection-of-law/) - Because laws are necessary, so too are moral principles for the laws. . . . in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights,
- [Anticipating](https://www.thisisourstory.net/anticipation/) - The day we call tomorrow will come soon. We can never know about the days to come but we think about them anyway. [from the Carly Simon song "Anticipation"] I like to compare the holiday season with the way a child listens to a favorite story. The pleasure is in the familiar way the story
- [Interlude](https://www.thisisourstory.net/interlude/) - An interlude is a brief rest, a time of calming or reflection. Take a breath: a new year is just around the corner.
- [Living Religiously](https://www.thisisourstory.net/living-religiouly/) - In our model, religion means bringing all things together into a coherent whole, as best we can, so that we can live our best, most meaningful, and most purposeful lives. Were one asked to characterize the life of religion in the broadest and most general terms possible, one might say that it consists of the
- [Seeking Enlightenment; Being Enlightened](https://www.thisisourstory.net/enlightenment/) - Enlightenment is a new way of Being. It is above the world, yet fully in it. To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment,
- [Appreciating and Embracing Complexity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/complexity/) - The simple mind does not like change, which it may resist to the point of self-annihilation. The ability to acknowledge, appreciate and embrace the complexity of systems has always been a valuable attribute. . . . complexity by itself is neither good nor bad: it is confusion that is bad. [Donald A. Norman, Living With
- [Being an Agent for Revolution](https://www.thisisourstory.net/revolution/) - There are many kinds of non-violent revolution: in science, education, sports, the arts - in virtually every field of endeavor. When the subject matter is about scarce resources, a revolution can be violent. Now, the right of revolution is an inherent one. When people are oppressed by their government, it is a natural right they
- [Being an Agent for Change](https://www.thisisourstory.net/change/) - Change is essential to progress. Individuals must change to grow and develop. Society needs advocates of change, though it may reject most of their entreaties. There is nothing permanent except change. [attributed to Heraclitus] No instant, he wrote, is self-contained, just as no action in a theatrical pageant nor any drop in a flowing river
- [Success: Living a Life of Achievement](https://www.thisisourstory.net/achievement/) - Success is not necessarily about money, wealth, or career accomplishments. It may not even be about relationships. Success can be another word for flourishing, in whatever form that may take. The thing I remember most about successful people I've met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they're doing , . .
- [Strength](https://www.thisisourstory.net/strength/) - We may develop strength. Whatever its source, it facilitates empowerment. When I was a boy I used to think that strong meant having big muscles, great physical power, but the longer I live, the more I realize that real strength has much more to do with what is not seen. Real strength has to do
- [Paying It Forward](https://www.thisisourstory.net/paying-it-forward/) - Doing something good for future generations is noble, and for many people, uplifting. . . . you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back. [Maya Angelou] Maybe some day I’ll have kids of my own. I hope so. If I do, they’ll
- [Taking Comfort from Home](https://www.thisisourstory.net/comfort-from-home/) - Memories of home can bring great comfort. Home is the nicest word there is. [source unclear] Home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling. [attributed to Cecelia Ahern] When I go home, it's an easy way to be grounded. You learn to realize what truly matters. [attributed toTony Stewart] Was home a place of solace and
- [Meditating](https://www.thisisourstory.net/meditation/) - Through meditation, we step out of the world, within the world. When you're a kid, you lay in the grass and watch the clouds going over, and you literally don't have a thought in your mind. It's purely meditation, and we lose that. [attributed to Dick van Dyke] Meditation can help us embrace our worries,
- [Being Confident](https://www.thisisourstory.net/confidence-2/) - Confidence is the thought-element of faith. Often this is an intuitive thought, which is easily confused with an emotion. However, confidence also has an emotional component. Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. [Norman Vincent Peale] You gain
- [Transcending Tribalism](https://www.thisisourstory.net/compassion/) - Throughout history, humans have been tribal, as are many other species, favoring members of their own tribe over outsiders. Universal Love demands a different approach. Spirituality is meant to take us beyond our tribal identity into a domain of awareness that is more universal. [attributed to Deepak Chopra] Under no stretch of imagination can war
- [Being Peaceful](https://www.thisisourstory.net/peace-2/) - True peace includes peace of spirit. That is why peace is not merely the absence of war. Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can
- [Having Regard](https://www.thisisourstory.net/regard/) - An essential part of Love is caring about - having regard for the loved one(s). How many times have we heard someone say that a signficant other, such as a spouse, does not behave thoughtfully enough toward her? Perhaps nowhere do we need the cerebral cortex to transform a raw emotion into something good and
- [Being Grounded](https://www.thisisourstory.net/well-grounded/) - A firm grounding in reality, and in sound values, is essential in life. What I try to tell young people is that if you come together with a mission, and its grounded with love and a sense of community, you can make the impossible possible. [attributed to John Lewis] When adversity strikes, that's when you
- [Retreating: Taking a Spiritual Vacation](https://www.thisisourstory.net/retreat/) - Time away from a thing vigorously pursued can refresh. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. [Søren Kierkegaard, Letter 150 (1847).] A holiday is an opportunity to journey within. It is also a chance to chill, to relax. It
- [Resting and Relaxing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/rest/) - Inactivity must balance activity. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work. [Ralph Marston] Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer. [William S. Burroughs] Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a
- [Restoring the Self](https://www.thisisourstory.net/restoration/) - Everyone needs time to refresh. One day a week I seek to rest from earthly toil and sorrow. Revitalized, I find the strength to battle new tomorrows. [attributed to Richelle E. Goodrich] We are human beings, you need to mentally switch off now and again to refresh your body and mind. [Luke Campbell] When you
- [Being Vigilant](https://www.thisisourstory.net/vigilance/) - Vigilance is a form of diligence: diligence in the presence or threat of danger. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. [falsely attributed to Thomas Jefferson, and others] When good people in any country cease their vigilance and struggle, then evil men prevail. [attributed to Pearl S. Buck] The thing about tennis is if you
- [Acting with Urgency and Intensity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/urgency/) - Urgency is the flip side of patience, and like patience, it has its time and place. We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination
- [Using Scientific Methods](https://www.thisisourstory.net/scientific-method-2/) - Science is a set of methods, a way of finding out about the world and about ourselves. It has brought the technologies we see all around us, and revolutionized human life. Science especially enhances our health, wealth and security, which is greater today for more people on Earth than at any other time in human
- [Being a World Citizen](https://www.thisisourstory.net/world-citizenship/) - For those of us who are committed to honoring everyone’s intrinsic worth, citizenship is not limited by political divisions. . . . my country is the world, and my religion is to do good. [Thomas Paine] I put my family above myself, my country above my family and the human race above my country. [attributed
- [Being Public-Spirited](https://www.thisisourstory.net/being-public-spirited/) - In a sense, citizenship begins with the emotional feeling of citizens. . . . ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. [John F. Kennedy, inaugural address, January 20, 1961 (listen at 13:18).] The emotional component of public involvement is public-spiritedness. This means more than cheering
- [Being Generous](https://www.thisisourstory.net/generosity/) - By being generous, we advance beyond responsibility and reliability, and see our lives in terms of service to others. Every minute of every hour of every day you are making the world, just as you are making yourself, and you might as well do it with generosity and kindness and style. [Rebecca Solnit] True generosity
- [Being Brave](https://www.thisisourstory.net/bravery/) - Bravery is the act of facing down fear. Unlike courage, it need not involve voluntary risk-taking for the good of others. Bravery is a broader concept. Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death. [attributed to Omar N. Bradley] There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature
- [Intervening](https://www.thisisourstory.net/intervening/) - To live courageously, we may be compelled to intervene in unsavory situations. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. [Martin Luther King, Jr., "A letter from Birmingham jail".] We also want a free
- [Standing Up](https://www.thisisourstory.net/standing-up-2/) - Standing up for someone is a form of service, which can be heroic and courageous. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.
- [Transcending Kinship](https://www.thisisourstory.net/empathy/) - People favor close relatives over others: offspring over extended family, and extended family over people outside the family. Universal Love demands another approach. Families have a sense of kinship that no four strangers would ever have as a team. [attributed to Bradley Walsh] Enslaved people worked hard to preserve family ties and maintain kinship networks.
- [Genius](https://www.thisisourstory.net/genius/) - A genius is someone whose intellectual accomplishments transcend all previous ones. The man of talent is like a marksman who hits a mark others cannot hit; the man of genius is like a marksman who hits a mark they cannot even see to. [Arthur Schopenhauer] Familiar things happen, and mankind does not bother about them.
- [Being Avid](https://www.thisisourstory.net/enthusiasm/) - Avidity refers to transcendent eagerness and enthusiasm. I am an avid surfer, collector, reader, movie buff and am very health conscious, so I work out all the time and I love being with my loved ones when I am not traveling. [Bruce Buffer] Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That
- [Being Present](https://www.thisisourstory.net/being-present/) - We find comfort and reassurance in the presence of those who love us. In our darkest moments, we don’t need solutions or advice. What we yearn for is simply human connection—a quiet presence, a gentle touch. These small gestures are the anchors that hold us steady when life feels like too much. [attributed to Ernest
- [Being Fully Involved, Immersed in Living](https://www.thisisourstory.net/involvement/) - When the emotions have us fully immersed in life, and all it has to offer, doors open. You don't say to a university professor who is immersed in a particular subject that they should get a life. They are encouraged to enjoy their subject and to pass it on. [attributed to Magnus Magnusson] A reader
- [Being Motivated and Driven](https://www.thisisourstory.net/motivation-drive/) - Motivation is an internal striving, which can lead us to act. Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. [stated in several ways, and variously attributed] The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. [variously attributed] . . .
- [Pacing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/pace/) - A frenetic pace cannot be sustained for long. A snail's pace is rarely productive. Pacing is about proportion, in context, including the context of time. Life is a marathon, not a sprint; pace yourself accordingly. [Amby Burfoot] . . . adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. [Ralph Waldo Emerson] Quiet minds cannot
- [Eliciting the Best](https://www.thisisourstory.net/eliciting-the-best/) - Eliciting the best in ourselves and others expands on the Golden Rule. Act So As to Elicit the Best In Others, and Thereby In Thy Self. [Felix Adler, An Ethical Philosophy of Life, Book III, Chapter VII.] Felix Adler, founder of Ethical Culture, identified eliciting the best in others as the supreme ethical rule. It
- [Knowing the Soul](https://www.thisisourstory.net/soul/) - “Soul” is a word we use for our innermost experiences. . . . ‘twas not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. ‘Twas not my lips you kissed, but my soul. [Judy Garland] You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no
- [Leading - Being a Leader - Displaying Leadership](https://www.thisisourstory.net/leadership/) - Leadership is an important quality in society. Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand. [attributed to Colin Powell] In order to be a leader, a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence,
- [Knowing Self](https://www.thisisourstory.net/self-knowledge/) - To find our niche, we must know ourselves. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. [attributed to Aristotle] There are three Things extremely hard: Steel, a Diamond, and to know one's self. [Benjamin Franklin] Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. [attributed to Carl Jung] The intellectual
- [Finding and Occupying Your Niche](https://www.thisisourstory.net/niche/) - Our most sacred purpose is to find the place where we fit best, and then contribute in the way that is best suited to each of us, taking into account the needs of the whole. . . . each of us can work to change a small portion of events. . . It is from
- [Organization](https://www.thisisourstory.net/organization/) - Unity is the spirit of empowerment; organization is its mechanics. There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia. [Kurt Vonnegut, quoting a fictional
- [Purifying](https://www.thisisourstory.net/purification/) - In human affairs, purity is an ideal. A pure hand needs no glove to cover it! [Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter.] Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world. [This is generally thought to reflect the thinking of George Bernard Shaw.] What I dream of is
- [Keeping Life Simple](https://www.thisisourstory.net/simplicity/) - Simplicity is one approach to life. Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter. [John Muir] . . . let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a
- [Being Enthusiastic](https://www.thisisourstory.net/enthusiasm-2/) - A high level of emotional involvement (enthusiasm) is the great creative force in the domain of emotion. The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm. [attributed to Aldous Huxley] A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea
- [Being Physically Fit](https://www.thisisourstory.net/physical-fitness/) - A fit and healthy body is a foundation for everything else in life. . . . physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. [John F. Kennedy] Take care of your body. It's the only place you have
- [Being Imperturbable](https://www.thisisourstory.net/imperturbability/) - Difficult circumstances do not shake courageous people. He like a rock in the sea unshaken stands his ground. [attributed to Virgil] Being imperturbable in a world of chaos is like being unflappable in a pigeon loft, it is not impossible, but it will require cunning. [Neil Mach] Let your new goal be to be a
- [Being Dedicated](https://www.thisisourstory.net/dedication/) - Dedication implies a single-minded focus, and concentration of activity. Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Even a casual look at history reveals that no social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.
- [Being Reliable](https://www.thisisourstory.net/reliability/) - Being reliable goes beyond being merely responsible. People know, with a heightened degree of certainty and confidence, that they can count on someone who is reliable. Being taken for granted is an unpleasant but sincere form of praise. Ironically, the more reliable you are, and the less you complain, the more likely you are to
- [Rewarding](https://www.thisisourstory.net/reward/) - A reward is something that accrues to someone by accomplishment or recognition. The future rewards those who press on. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on. [Barack Obama] Work is that which you dislike doing but perform for the sake of external
- [Being Incisive](https://www.thisisourstory.net/incisiveness-2/) - Being sharp, keen, and penetrating is the essence of being incisive. Most people think they do not have time to consider issues carefully. They are sloppy thinkers. We value the cultivation of incisiveness, which is the art of considering details. Details matter. In Constitutional law, for example, seemingly innocuous breaches of individual rights can lead
- [Being Interested](https://www.thisisourstory.net/interest/) - Beyond mere willingness is interest, the emotional component of level-two responsibility in all our relations. Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. [attributed to Henry Miller] Just because you do not take an
- [Making and Keeping Sacred Vows](https://www.thisisourstory.net/sacred-vows/) - Committing to the most important things in life, from a spiritual (it’s not just about me) perspective, and following through on the commitment, is the essence of making and keeping sacred vows. A vow is an intention. A commitment expresses resolve toward that intention. Then we are called on to carry it out.
- [Calendar](https://www.thisisourstory.net/calendar/) - This Is Our Story offers a daily value on its home page. It is a Humanist liturgical calendar without days of obligation. This calendar, like everything else here, is an invitation. I have enjoyed following it for several years, to remind myself of core values in sequence, in keeping with the seasonal nature of life.
- [Intolerance](https://www.thisisourstory.net/intolerance/)
- [Respecting Value](https://www.thisisourstory.net/respecting-value/) - "I don't like that kind of music but I can hear that it is intricate and the performers did an excellent job with it." "Indian cuisine does not appeal to me but this is very fresh, colorful and I am beginning to appreciate the spicing." "Basketball bores me but I can see how hard those
- [Anxiety](https://www.thisisourstory.net/anxiety/)
- [Extremism](https://www.thisisourstory.net/extremism/)
- [Wish Fulfillment](https://www.thisisourstory.net/wish-fulfillment/) - Believing things to be true because one wishes them to be true is a prime malady of the human condition. It is an opposite of objectivity, reflecting a shortfall of intellectual honesty. It has led to wars, famines and other guarantors of human suffering.
- [Propaganda](https://www.thisisourstory.net/propaganda/) - Propaganda is information of a biased or misleading nature, or misinformation, used to promote a cause or point of view. It is usually disseminated by someone seeking to promote a self-interest without regard to the whole, and therefore fits within Niebuhr's definition of evil. As the means of disseminating information and misinformation have become more
- [Hopelessness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/hopelessness/) - Hopelessness is a dark view of the future, in which there is no escape from unhappiness and suffering.
- [Grid into the Creative Forces](https://www.thisisourstory.net/grid-through-self-worth/) - GLOBAL SELF-WORTH DIGNITY CREATIVE FORCES THOUGHT SELF-CONFIDENCE REASON/WISDOM TRUTH EMOTION SELF-ESTEEM CARING/EMPATHY LOVE ACTION SELF-COMPETENCE COURAGE/SERVICE/GENEROSITY FAITH
- [Grid Omnibus](https://www.thisisourstory.net/grid-omnibus/) - SELF GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION VALUE CONVICTION ATTITUDE EVIL LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 Self-respect Self-understanding Prudence LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 CREATIVITY Self-love Faith in self SPIRITUALITY Spirituality Meaning Direction Purpose CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION VALUE CONVICTION ATTITUDE EVIL LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 Respect Understanding Responsibility LEVEL 3 Kindliness Appreciation
- [Journals](https://www.thisisourstory.net/journals/) - Virtual libraries (enter sites from this site)
- [Static - Dynamic](https://www.thisisourstory.net/static-dynamic/) - In relation to the self: Habits and Practices (static) - Change (dynamic) In relation to others, near and intimate relationships: Tradition (static) - Challenging Conventions (dynamic) In relation to others, near and intimate relationships: Social Norms (static) - Challenging Conventions
- [Space and Time](https://www.thisisourstory.net/space-and-time/) - To everything there is a season . . . Humility - Assertiveness Modesty - Drive Skepticism - Advocacy Forbearing - Viligance Patience - Urgency Equanimity - Desire Order - Revolution Stability - Change Freedom - Responsibility Risking - Prudence Beginning - Ending Growing - Declining Arriving Leaving Holding On - Letting Go Stimulating - Letting
- [Deferential Values in Relation to Other People](https://www.thisisourstory.net/deferential-values-in-relation-to-other-people/) - DEFERENTIAL VALUES in Relation to Other People (Week 6) GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION VALUE CONVICTION ATTITUDE Avoiding Harm Non-malevolence Acknowleding the Other’s Humanity Restraining Fairness Common Ground Tolerance
- [Deferential Values in Relation to the Material World](https://www.thisisourstory.net/deferential-values-in-relation-to-the-material-world/) - DEFERENTIAL VALUES in Relation to the Material World (Week 5) GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION ATTITUDE Humility Modesty Skepticism Forbearing Patience Equanimity Mindfulness
- [Transitions](https://www.thisisourstory.net/transitions/) - TRANSITIONS (weeks 12, 21, 40) GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION Renewal Curiosity Inquisitiveness – The Religious Quest Investigation – Experimentation Beginning, Ending; Growing, Declining Arriving, Leaving, etc. Redeeming Awakening Insight Distinctions Incisiveness Novelty Play, Playfulness Blossoming, Extending Rebirth Soul Meditation Transcending Ego Flow Spirit Exuberance
- [Restorative Values](https://www.thisisourstory.net/restorative-values/) - RESTORATIVE VALUES (weeks 36, 53) (The italicized entries do not correspond to the Global-Attitude sequence.) GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION VALUE CONVICTION ATTITUDE Restoration Calmness Reflection Rest Reverie Retreat Tranquility Celebrating Ritual Triumph Interlude Preparation Anticipation Remembrance
- [Relationships: Material World](https://www.thisisourstory.net/relationships-material-world/) - We strive to be live the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the difference. [adapted from Reinhold Niebuhr.] Values Grid: Relationships to the Material World (Assertive) Level/Dynamic GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION VALUE CONVICTION ATTITUDE 1 POWER 1 COMBINED Engagement Willingness
- [Relationships: Public](https://www.thisisourstory.net/relationships-public/) - Values Grid: Public Relationships (Assertive) Level/Dynamic GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION VALUE CONVICTION ATTITUDE 1 POWER 1 COMBINED 1 HARMONIC 2 POWER 2 COMBINED Citizenship 2 HARMONIC 3 POWER 3 COMBINED Leadership 3 HARMONIC 4 POWER 4 COMBINED Transforming 4 HARMONIC CF POWER CF COMBINED CF HARMONIC
- [Relationships: Intimate](https://www.thisisourstory.net/relationships-intimate/) - Values grid: Intimate and Near Relationships (Assertive) Level/dynamic GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION VALUE CONVICTION ATTITUDE 1 POWER 1 COMBINED Avoiding Harm Non-malevolence Acknowledging Forbearing 1 HARMONIC 2 POWER 2 COMBINED Obligation Respect Understanding Responsibility 2 HARMONIC 3 POWER 3 COMBINED Kindness Kindliness Appreciation Generosity 3 HARMONIC 4 POWER 4 COMBINED Caring Wisdom Courage 4 HARMONIC
- [Relationship to Self](https://www.thisisourstory.net/relationship-to-self/) - Values grid: Relationship to Self (Developmental) Level/Dynamic GLOBAL EMOTION THOUGHT ACTION VALUE CONVICTION ATTITUDE 1 POWER 1 COMBINED 1 HARMONIC 2 POWER 2 COMBINED Self-worth Self-esteem Self-understand Self-competence Self-confidence 2 HARMONIC 3 POWER 3 COMBINED 3 HARMONIC 4 POWER 4 COMBINED 4 HARMONIC CF POWER Spirit CF COMBINED CF HARMONIC Soul
- [Socio-political Disorganization](https://www.thisisourstory.net/socio-political-disorganization/) - Disorganization is the most obvious opposite of organization. In society and government, the most glaring examples become apparent when people are deeply divided by method, approach or perceived purpose.
- [Purposelessness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/purposelessness/) - [/caption]
- [Bias](https://www.thisisourstory.net/bias/) - [/caption] Magritte’s painting suggests a central question: can we recognize our own biases?
- [Deceit](https://www.thisisourstory.net/deceit/)
- [Arrogance](https://www.thisisourstory.net/arrogance/) - Humility's opposite, arrogance is an unjustified and inflated (immoderate) sense of self, sometimes expressed as grandiosity.

## Pages

- [Read This First](https://www.thisisourstory.net/first/) - Each of the scriptures tells a story but only part of the human story. This website is an attempt to tell our story more fully, and to put it into a framework of human values. I ask you to read this first because the material on this site is too vast to read fully. If
- [About](https://www.thisisourstory.net/about/) - PART ONE: OUR STORY First ingredient: Distinctions. What is the core and essence of being human? What is contentment, or kindliness, or Love? What is gentleness, or service, or enthusiasm, or courage? If you follow the links, you see at a glance what these concepts mean. From infancy, human beings learn by making distinctions: for
- [FAQ](https://www.thisisourstory.net/faq/) - This is the Frequently Asked Questions page.

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/uncategorized/)
- [About](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/site-description/)
- [Cycle-of-Life Season](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/)
- [Opposites and Obstacles](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/opposites-obstacles/)
- [Weekdays](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/weekdays/)
- [1 Dormancy](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/)
- [2 Sowing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/)
- [3 Growth](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/growth/)
- [4 Ripening](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/)
- [5 Interlude](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/interlude/)
- [6 Fulfillment](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/fulfillment/)
- [7 Assessing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/assessing/)
- [8 Harvest and Celebration](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/harvest-and-celebration/)
- [Friday](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/weekdays/friday/)
- [Monday](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/weekdays/monday/)
- [Saturday](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/weekdays/saturday/)
- [Sunday](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/weekdays/sunday/)
- [Thursday](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/weekdays/thursday/)
- [Tuesday](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/weekdays/tuesday/)
- [Wednesday](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/weekdays/wednesday/)
- [Week 01: Human Worth](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/week01/) - Human Worth
- [Week 02: Universality](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/week02/) - Universality
- [Week 03: Justice](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/week03/) - Justice
- [Week 04: Suffering](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/week04/) - Suffering
- [Week 05: Humility](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/week05/) - Humility
- [Week 06: Avoiding Harm, or Evil](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/week06/) - Avoiding Harm
- [Week 07: Engaging the World](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/week07/) - Engaging the World
- [Week 08: Order](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/dormancy/week08/) - Order
- [Week 09: Preferences (Desire)](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/week09/) - Preferences
- [Week 10: Autonomy](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/week10/) - Autonomy
- [Week 11: Life as a Journey](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/week11/) - Journeying
- [Week 12: Renewal](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/week12/) - Renewal
- [Week 13: Hope and Optimism](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/week13/) - Hoping
- [Week 14: Self-esteem (Self-worth begins)](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/week14/) - Self-Esteem
- [Week 15: Self-confidence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/week15/) - Self-Confidence
- [Week 16: Independence (Self-competence)](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/sowing/week16/) - Self-Competence
- [Week 17: Our Future](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/growth/week17/) - Future and Nature
- [Week 18: Honesty](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/growth/week18/) - Honesty
- [Week 19: Obligation in the World](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/growth/week19/) - Competence
- [Week 20: Duty toward Others](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/growth/week20/) - Responsibility
- [Week 21: Awakening](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/growth/week21/) - Awakening
- [Week 22: Obstacles and Opportunities](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/growth/week22/) - Obstacles and Opportunities
- [Week 23: Individuality and Community](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/growth/week23/) - Individuality and Society
- [Week 24: Honoring](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week24/) - Honoring Worth
- [Week 25: Excellence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week25/) - Excellence
- [Week 26: An Ethic of Generous Service](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week26/) - Generosity
- [Week 27: Openness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week27/) - Openness
- [Week 28: Transcendence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week28/) - Transcendence
- [Week 29: Wisdom](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week29/) - Wisdom
- [Week 30: Caring](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week30/) - Caring
- [Week 31: Courage](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week31/) - Courage
- [Week 32: Citizenship](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/ripening/week32/) - Citizenship
- [Week 33: Grounding and Well-Roundedness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/interlude/week33/) - Grouding and Rounding
- [Week 34: Assertiveness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/interlude/week34/) - Assertiveness
- [Week 35: Restoration](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/interlude/week35/) - Restoration
- [Week 36: Creativity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/fulfillment/week36/) - Creativity
- [Week 37: Truth](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/fulfillment/week37/) - Truth
- [Week 38: Love](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/fulfillment/week38/) - Love
- [Week 39: Faith](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/fulfillment/week39/) - Faith
- [Week 40: Rebirth](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/fulfillment/week40/) - Rebirth
- [Week 41: Home and the Past](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/assessing/week41/) - Home
- [Week 42: Vitality](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/assessing/week42/) - Vitality
- [Week 43: Self-actualization and Integrity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/assessing/week43/) - Integrity
- [Week 44: Connectedness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/assessing/week44/) - Connectedness
- [Week 45: Empowerment](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/assessing/week45/) - Empowerment
- [Week 46: Equality](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/assessing/week46/) - Equality
- [Week 47: Flourishing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/harvest-and-celebration/week47/) - Flourishing
- [Week 48: Focus and Perspective](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/harvest-and-celebration/week48/) - Focus and Perspective
- [Week 49: Change](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/harvest-and-celebration/week49/) - Change
- [Week 50: Finding Our Niche](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/harvest-and-celebration/week50/) - Niche
- [Week 51: Accepting / Surrendering](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/harvest-and-celebration/week51/) - Enlightenment
- [Week 52: Living Religiously](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/harvest-and-celebration/week52/) - Sacred
- [Week 53: Celebration and Remembrance](https://www.thisisourstory.net/category/season/harvest-and-celebration/week53/) - Celebration and Remembrance

## Tags

- [Acknowledging](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/acknowledging/)
- [Anticipation](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/anticipation/)
- [Appreciation](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/appreciation/)
- [Belonging](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/belonging/)
- [Choosing](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/choosing/)
- [Confidence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/confidence/)
- [Focus](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/focus/)
- [Honoring uniqueness](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/honoring-uniqueness/)
- [Judgment](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/judgment/)
- [Motivation](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/motivation/)
- [Planning](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/planning/)
- [Prudence](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/prudence/)
- [Remembrance](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/remembrance/)
- [Restraining](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/restraining/)
- [Retreat](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/retreat/)
- [Reverie](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/reverie/)
- [Self-knowledge](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/self-knowledge/)
- [Tenacity](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/tenacity/)
- [Transcending ego](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/transcending-ego/)
- [Week 01: Human Worth](https://www.thisisourstory.net/tag/week01/)