It took me decades to discover what authenticity means… and even longer to make a sincere effort to live accordingly…

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Introduction

Alt Subtitle: Lessons in Empowerment and Self-Actualization

It’s not that I discovered an ism called existential-humanism…

It’s simply that I learned there was a name for a perfectly rational and ethical worldview that allowed me to embrace freedom and responsibility… and love and logic… without having to place a bet on whose kooky, stifling, divisive superstition was the “winner” in the theory of everything contest.

I’m proud to count myself among the growing ranks of humans who have the honesty, courage, reason, and decency to let critical thinking and evidence determine their beliefs and behaviors, not the other way around.

… to count myself among those who trust the virtues and methods of science when it comes to understanding how the universe works.

… to count myself among those who need neither permission nor coercion by the powers that be in order to do the right thing.

… to count myself among those who understand that morality is measured by the consequences of a belief or behavior, not by blind obedience to some “authority” figure, earthly or divine.

… to count myself among those who affirm basic human rights, equity, and justice for all, not just for some.

… to count myself among those whose daily commitments are untarnished by the fear of punishment or promise of reward, in this life or any other.

… to count myself among those who affirm the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively.

… to count myself among those who affirm the power of science, reason, and empathy to improve the human condition. (To those inclined to accuse me of scientism, I say to you: I fail to see how LOVE is unscientific.)

And so, I have an announcement to make…

Welcome to my coming out party!
(Coming out human, that is)

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The Lottery

We live on a planet where, every day, thousands of innocent newborns are thrust… purely by accident of birth, into circumstances not of their choosing—segregated into the healthy and not, wealthy and not, beautiful and not, gifted and not, sheltered and not, privileged and not, and everything in between.

We live on a planet where millions of human beings, through no fault of their own, have no hope of enjoying the many conveniences and opportunities that other millions take for granted; where millions would trade everything they owned to have the scraps of food that other millions routinely throw away; where millions are condemned to preventable poverty, disease, and violence while millions of others bask in comfort, safety, and luxury.

And here you are, uniquely blessed and burdened, living somewhere between poverty and affluence and somewhere between helplessness and omnipotence. Struggling to find meaning, peace, and happiness somewhere between self-indulgence and self-sacrifice—and never sure that you are doing the right thing, no matter how honorable, generous, and courageous your actions might be.

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Existential Angst

It’s quite possible that I’m taking life way too seriously…

and making myself (and sometimes others) miserable in the process.

Perhaps I ask too many questions.

Perhaps I have too much faith in human potential.

Perhaps I have too much concern for the well-being of my fellow creatures.

Perhaps all talk of freedom, responsibility, virtue, character, love, power, and justice is hogwash.

Perhaps I’m not as special as I think I am.

Perhaps I’m trying to make too much sense of an absurd existence.

Perhaps I should just enjoy myself as much as I can before death takes it all away.

Despite these reservations, I have no choice but to err on the side of hope and seriousness.

I cannot respect myself any other way.

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Finding Yourself / Myself (See Caveats Below)

Also consider using this chapter in “Finding Your Way”

My life didn’t fully begin until I realized that “finding myself” was a central and urgent task above all others…

Allow me to share five huge insights that helped me discover who I am (or at least hope to be)…

1

The reason you fail to achieve a challenging goal isn’t because you’re stupid, lazy, weak, or untalented, isn’t because you’re a quitter or procrastinator, and isn’t because you lack discipline or self-control.

The real reason is lack of something infinitely higher and deeper: CLARITY of PURPOSE.

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2

Willpower does not exist.

The only way to stop doing things that are bad for you and to start doing things that are good for you is never a matter of superhuman self-control or self-denial, but of self-possession, impassioned by one thing: CLARITY of PURPOSE.

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3

CLARITY of PURPOSE—a master organizer and purifier…

… with the power to unclutter your heart and mind of the vulgar, petty, and trivial.

CLARITY of PURPOSE—a master energizer, with the power to animate the very best parts of you.

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4

CLARITY of PURPOSE—the parent of so many precious children…

… the courage to risk,

… the discipline to show up to work every day,

… the integrity to do the right thing when no one is looking,

… the humility to say YES to the “small” things that matter and the wisdom to say NO to the “big” things that don’t,

… the conviction to ignore the critics, cynics, and naysayers,

… and the perseverance to keep on trying when things get tough.

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5

You should be so fortunate to be moved by something greater than your own comfort, ease, and safety…

… possessed by something so compelling that there’s no question of pursuing it—because it represents the deepest expression of who you truly are—so much so that you cannot imagine life any other way—and so deeply that you consider it a privilege to suffer for it.

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(*) Caveats. Of course, possible reasons we fail to achieve to include those outside of our control: health, safety, physical and mental illness, religious and political indoctrination, sexism, racism, substance abuse, poverty, crime, corruption, terrorism, censorship, famine, natural disaster, colonialism, slavery, inadequate education, authoritarianism, and trauma in so many forms… each and every one one a destroyer of potential and deserving of countless dissertations.

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Inclinations

Thinking is NOT the highest function of a sentient mind…

Thinking is merely one of its servants.

There’s something far more powerful and consequential than mere cognition… something called ATTITUDE–the moral stance towards existence you carry with you everywhere you go… so deeply embedded in your psyche that you don’t even know it’s there… so all-consuming that you don’t have an attitude as much as your attitude has you.

No matter your intellectual endowment, this moral stance is master over all… with the power to direct and focus your eyes and ears… to animate your hands, feet, and vocal cords… to impassion your hopes and dreams… to filter and amplify your perceptions and expectations of everyone and everything around you, for better or worse.

And so your attitude sweeps you this way or that… towards pessimism or optimism, cynicism or trust, despair or hope, judgment or curiosity, resignation or engagement, scarcity or abundance, competition or collaboration, victimhood or empowerment, resentment or forgiveness, entitlement or gratitude, to name but a few… each with the absolute power to choose what lives and what dies.

So, in which direction is your attitude leaning today?

In which direction would you like it to lean?

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Ode to Free Will

I’ll let the scientists, philosophers, and theologians quibble about the existence (or not) of something called “free will”. For I have a life to live… and no time to waste chasing or waiting for the unanswerable.

Besides, I’d much rather live the mystery than solve the mystery any day.

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Meditation on Free Will #1

I don’t seem to choose my thinkings, feelings, and doings…

They seem to choose me–and take me along for the ride, for better or worse.

And so, I wonder…

Is it possible that free will is just a grand delusion?

Nothing more than my self-conscious brain playing tricks on itself?

A vain attempt to seize control where no control exists?

A desperate bid to make sense of an absurd existence?

An emotional rejection of determinism?

A conceited attempt to feel more special than I really am?

Then again, free will may be the most infinitely precious and powerful thing in the entire cosmos.

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Meditation on Free Will #2

No matter how I ask the question about the meaning of my existence,…

… the mere suggestion that life can mean something gives birth to a possibility that’s as terrible as it is wonderful: a thing called FREEDOM.

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Meditation on Free Will #3

My first act of faith is to commit myself to FREEDOM…

I commit myself to FREEDOM not on logical, but on moral grounds.

I commit myself to FREEDOM because I refuse to be a mere effect in an indifferent universe.

I commit myself to FREEDOM because, without it, all talk of character, virtue, ethics, and love is nonsense.

I commit myself to FREEDOM because rejecting it relinquishes my dignity and power.

I commit myself to FREEDOM because every attempt to escape from freedom causes me pain

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Aspirations

The meaning of life, properly understood, knows that you have more than the right to be somebody…

… that you have more than the permission to be somebody.

The meaning of life, properly understood, knows that you have the sacred responsibility to be somebody.

To become more than your DNA ever expected you to be… to become more than your hometown ever expected you to be… to become more than even YOU ever expected you to be.

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Property Rights

Nothing really belongs to you…

NOTHING…

Not your stuff, not your money, not your health, not your talents, not your titles, not your accomplishments, not your family and friends.

Even your own body does not belong to you and will eventually abandon you against your will.

So, when you use the word “my”, let it be a declaration of profound STEWARDSHIP, not mere possession.

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“Progress”

We in the “developed” world have inherited an enormous treasure chest…

… of labor-saving technologies and healing medicines… safe drinking water and grocery stores… smart phones and air conditioning… automobiles, airplanes, and weather satellites… literacy, libraries, free speech, and entertainment on demand… to name but a few.

I’d never refuse to enjoy or employ any of these conveniences, luxuries, and liberties…

… but at what cost? And to what end? I am compelled to ask.

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A Celebration of Not Thinking

There are two ways to NOT think…

The first way to NOT think is below thinking… the knee-jerk reactions of that coiled reptile, salivating dog, and pecking pigeon inside of me–all primed to fight, flee, or freeze without deliberation.

The other way to NOT think is above thinking… the bare-naked ability to experience and respond to things as they truly are–beyond the stranglehold of reflex, instinct, training, preconception, self-deception, and self-righteousness.

Ascending to this rarified vantage point is no small feat… and not for the faint of heart. Getting there requires something utterly simple, yet extraordinary: the uncommon honesty, humility, and courage to see, hear, and admit what is right before and between your own eyes and ears.

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Philosopher’s Cramp

No matter how impeccable my logic, and no matter how clever my arguments, I’ve never been able to reason my way to a meaningful life…

But if the thinker in me is wise enough, honest enough, humble enough, and courageous enough, his repeated failures to think his way to meaning will teach him many priceless lessons:

He will discover that thinking is NOT the highest function of a sentient mind.

…that thinking and consciousness are not synonyms.

…that getting the “right” answers will do him no good if he is asking the wrong questions.

…that intellect alone is too narrow, shallow, and crude to answer the most important questions in life.

…that his compulsive need to explain everything renders him blind and deaf to the simple truths that are right before his eyes and ears.

…that true knowledge and profound wisdom are the fruit of superior experience, not superior intellect.

…that knowledge without action is a pointless self-indulgence.

…that life doesn’t have to make sense, but it still needs to be lived.

…that he need not solve the mystery of life in order to live the mystery of life–with passion and purpose.

… and that certain secrets of the universe will be revealed to him only after he’s had the courage to leave the convenient, comfortable, safe, and predictable behind–secrets that logic cannot deduce, words cannot express, and thoughts cannot think.

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Ode to Authenticity

It took me decades to discover what authenticity means… and even longer to make a sincere effort to live accordingly…

Indulge me now as I share the ways I’ve learned to inoculate myself from the pressures that would just as soon turn me into something I am not…

Imagine yourself…

… liberated from the stifling grip of obedience and conformity,

… uninhibited by self-consciousness,

… undeterred by criticism and unmoved by flattery,

… unconstrained by tradition and social norms,

… unmotivated by the trappings of wealth, fame, and coercive power,

… having no need for permission, approval, or validation,

… and uncorrupted by ulterior motives.

Imagine yourself master of and slave to no one.

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Agency

Everything DOES happen for a reason…

It’s called the universe–an incomprehensibly vast and eternal something that, according to every honest report and every experiment since the dawn of time, obeys the immutable laws of physics.

We humans are an inseparable part of that universe–and inescapably subject to nature’s laws.

But here’s the interesting and mysterious bit…

While the laws of nature must be understood–and, while much of the reality that ensues from those laws must be adapted to–REALITY is also created by everything you do or fail to do each and every day.

If that doesn’t make you feel privileged, powerful, accountable, and thrilled to be alive, what will?

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Perhaps it’s fear that holds us back. Perhaps we’re utterly overwhelmed by the enormous political and economic forces threatened by and therefore opposed to our self-actualization.

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Pandemics

Everything you do (or not) casts a vote for what exists in the world…

Every habit, occupation, possession, pastime, and dollar spent.

Every relationship, membership, and allegiance.

Every acceptance or rejection.

Every promise kept or broken.

Every honesty or pretense.

Every encouraging or discouraging word.

Every act of forgiveness or resentment, generosity or greed, compassion or indifference, courage or cowardice, hope or despair.

Every mistake never owned, every olive branch rejected, every dollar squandered, every heartbeat wasted, every cry for help ignored, every talent buried, every generous impulse never acted upon, every decision to look the other way.

Everything you do—or not—is contagious—with the potential to spread farther and wider than you can ever know.

So, what do you want people to catch from you today?

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The Art of Dialogue

Breaking down the walls that divide us is impossible without mastering the most important and most difficult communication skill: Listening.

Experience teaches me again and again that I could have avoided many regrets and embarrassments by listening first and talking second–if I needed to speak at all.

Experience teaches me again and again that I contribute so much more to a conversation by being a sincere asker of questions rather than an articulate expresser of opinions… no matter how informed those opinions might be.

Experience teaches me again and again that mindful communication also includes that which remains unspoken… in the name of humility, tact, and kindness.

Experience teaches me again and again that poor listening is worse than just an annoying habit… Poor listening is often my ignorance and vanity trying to defend themselves against an inconvenient truth.

That said, ignorance, and all the evils that ignorance breeds–the fear, anxiety, suspicion, injustice, bigotry, and violence–will continue to plague the planet as long as we think that we have more to say to each other than to learn from each other.

And so, listening is more than just a nice thing to do.

Real listening is an act of wisdom, humility, and courage with the power to heal and to create hope in places where healing and hope did not exist before.

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The Dog Eat Dog World

One man’s plea to rise above the fray of the dog eat dog world by using our gifts to connect, not to compete, with each other…

I’ve never found meaning, peace, or happiness by being “better” than others–by beating them at sports and games, by passing them on the career ladder, by possessing fancier stuff, by having the last word.

Experience has taught me again and again that I only truly win when my victory requires no one else to lose.

Experience has taught me again and again that the only real success is to become a better and more authentic version of me, not a superior version of somebody else.

Experience has taught me again and again that I only feel good about myself when I use my time, treasure, and talents to connect with others, not to compete with them.

By the way, my unilateral withdrawal from the world of contention is not just a gift to me, but a gift to the whole world: one less human being for everyone else to fear and compete with.

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Rich Dad Poor Dad

Who are we who inhabit the “developed” and “developing” world?

At “the top” a tiny minority groomed for aristocracy–a privileged caste bred in comfort, ease, and safety–reared to think that they “have it” and are entitled to own and rule.

At “the bottom” hundreds of millions reared to join the docile, obedient, disposable masses–channeled this way or that by forces not of their making–trained to believe that they DON’T “have it” and are destined to do the dirty work and heavy lifting.

So, which of these would I rather be?

The answer, of course, is neither.

How can anyone claim freedom and dignity as a slave beneath or master above another human being?

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Breaking the Cycle

It feels so wrong to punish children for the sins of their parents…

But weren’t their parents also children once upon a time?

When, if ever, do innocent children become responsible adults?

When, if ever, should innocent children become responsible adults?

When does someone need and deserve our compassion and understanding?

When, if ever, should someone be held responsible for their actions?

(If so, HOW should they be held responsible for their actions?)

And when, if ever, does someone deserve our blame and disdain?

I don’t know.

Does anybody know?

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Parenthood

Fifteen reflections on how to be a real mom or dad…

1

Your job is to make your children’s lives better… not to be confused with easier.

2

Be deeply interested in your children. In doing so, you are going to help them discover their talents and passions without imposing any notions of success upon them.

3

Give your kids the chance to know how good it feels to have earned what they have.

4

Teach your children the things you wish you knew and give them the emotional support you wish you had.

5

Your kids learn from the example you set, not from the words you speak.

You teach them good manners by your politeness. You teach them to own their mistakes by owning your mistakes. You teach them honesty, responsibility, generosity, and courage by your honesty, responsibility, generosity, and courage. And you teach them how to love by loving them and by loving others.

6

Teach your kids to be good helpers—by allowing them to help, no matter how much patience it requires of you. Doing so will bring a lifetime of joy to them, to you, and to the whole world.

7

A major cause of human suffering is that parents are not honest with their children—especially about matters such as money, work, love, sex, drugs, race, marriage, religion, patriotism, and war.

8

It’s your job to break the cycle of ignorance that you inherited from your elders—a cycle of ignorance that your elders most likely inherited from theirs.

9

Your task is not to teach your kids what to think. It’s not even your task to teach your kids how to think. It’s your responsibility to give your kids things to think about.

10

Make sure your kids know and feel deeply that they are loved and valued—and that the world needs them.

11

Sometimes you love your kids best by yelling at and hugging them at the same time.

12

Sometimes you need to rescue your kids from dangers they are too young to understand. But, unless they are in such danger, you don’t love your kids by rescuing them from their mistakes. Neither do you love your kids by punishing them for their mistakes. You love your kids by letting them own their mistakes.

13

Your task is to make adults out of your children—by showing them that sometimes they must sacrifice pleasure and accept pain for the sake of higher ends.

14

Teach your children that they have more than the permission—that they have more than the right—that they have the sacred responsibility—to question everything.

15

Teach your children that they should never accept what anybody tells them—you included—without putting it to the tests of love and logic for themselves.

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Autonomy and Community

Wholeness as human beings is impossible without the deep appreciation of our connections with and significance to each other…

Indulge me now as I share my personal collection of affirmations in this regard…

1

Your life is deeply enriched by enriching the lives of others.

2

The best way to be somebody is to matter to somebody else.

3

Be neither selfish nor selfless. Be self-interested and interested in others.

4

Self-interest and concern for others are both essential to a life well-lived.

5

You are on the right path when your freedom and autonomy are balanced with an equal measure of responsibility and fellowship.

6

Those of us who fare better in the lottery of life have a natural responsibility towards those not so fortunate.

7

There is no greater joy than to share your time, treasure, and talents in service to others.

8

We are most together as a community when we are most free as individuals.

9

True communion with others doesn’t diminish you in the least–because it doesn’t require you to be something you’re not.

11

Doing what’s truly in your own interest is probably also what’s best for the whole world. And so, you love others best by loving yourself more, not less.

12

Individual excellence and collective effort both matter.

13

We need more autonomy and more community.

14

Community is not a melting pot of uniformity, but a flavorful stew of diversity.

15

Individual, responsible liberty is the only ethical and sustainable foundation for peace and justice.

16

We are ALL in the same boat–and would all benefit if we allowed our hopes, fears, virtues, and foibles to unite us in mutual affection and shared purpose.

17

Service to others: the cure for loneliness, boredom, unhappiness, self-doubt, regret, anxiety, disillusionment, resignation, and fear—but that is not why you do it.

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Attention Deficit Disorder

Any claim of freedom and dignity extends only as far, wide, and deep as the capacity to direct your own attention…

Easier said than done in a world full of opportunistic salesmen clamoring for market share—everyday and everywhere bombarding you with empty promises of happiness and salvation… with rousing propaganda and superstitious nonsense that have you fearing monsters that don’t exist… with titillating sounds and images exquisitely designed to make you salivate for things that are neither true nor good nor beautiful.

And so, the world turns… readily preying upon your greed and anxieties… luring you from one hypnotic amusement to the next… separating you from your heart, mind, and hard-earned money… distracting you away from anything that really matters… reducing you to a chaser of cheap thrills, easy answers, and booby prizes… and virtually guaranteeing that you will never question why… because you’re far too “busy” being flattered and entertained to death.

Whose fault is all this insanity?

Well, it’s YOUR fault, of course.

The preachers, politicians, and other snake oil salesmen are giving you exactly what you want.

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The War Prayer (Mark Twain)

Already posted under “Finding My Religion”. Consider also including here.

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Triple-Edged Swords

Pretty much anything can be used as either a tool or a weapon…

… every piece of knowledge.

… every written and spoken word.

… every dollar and possession.

… every skill and accomplishment.

… every platform, pulpit, and station in life.

… every relationship, membership, allegiance, and alliance.

… every opportunity, badge, and title.

… every decade, year, month, week, day, hour, minute, and heartbeat.

I, like most, am not typically guilty of using these tools as weapons, but…

I am, more often than I care to admit, guilty of using them for nothing at all.

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Beyond the Nature Nurture Debate

If scientists could unravel and decode every strand of my DNA… and tally every reward I enjoyed and every punishment I endured growing up, would my life’s trajectory come as an intriguing (and pleasant) surprise to them?

I sure hope so.

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Walking My Talk

Can the politician in me think his work is done because he delivered a speech about unity?

Can the preacher in me think his work is done because he gave a sermon about charity?

Can the poet in me think his work is done because he wrote a sonnet about love?

Can the professor in me think his work is done because gave a lecture about justice?

Can the author in me think his work is done because he published a book about courage?

Can the believer in me think his work is done because he said a prayer for peace?

Can the writer in me think his work is done because he wrote an essay titled “Walking My Talk”?

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Trading Places

What if I could take the trip of a lifetime… through the body, mind, heart, and circumstances of every other creature on the planet?

What if I could feel what it’s like to be young and old, rich and poor, ugly and beautiful, male and female, healthy and infirm, gifted and disabled, skilled and clumsy, short and tall, fat and skinny, brilliant and dull, black and white, educated and ignorant, popular and marginalized, charming and awkward, privileged and destitute, worshipped and bullied, welcome and shunned, lionized and demonized, sheltered and terrorized, embraced and abandoned… and everything in between and beyond?

Would I discover a universal thread that connects all things? A common ground that could put all our divisive illusions, fears, anxieties, and superstitions to rest?

Or just a mindless, heartless, hopeless lottery of masters and slaves, predators and prey?

Which of my working theories–about myself, human nature, and how the world turns–would survive this epic journey?

Would I find a reason for hope and engagement? Or for cynicism and resignation?

Would I be more inclined to love my neighbor or fear my neighbor?

More inclined to be my brother’s and sister’s keeper? Or just make it all about ME until death takes it all away?

So, whose shoes would I like to walk in today?

Whose shoes do I NEED to walk in today?

I may not be able to walk IN their shoes, but I can at least walk WITH them for a while and try to understand what it’s like to be somebody else.

And who knows? They may even show an interest in understanding what it’s like to be me.

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Just Say Yes

The cynic and pessimist in you will never accomplish anything worthwhile…

1

Optimism—even if considered naive, irrational, or foolhardy by others—is essential to all human progress.

2

Hopes and dreams are so easily crushed by fear, self-doubt, and self-consciousness—so easily crushed by trusting the cynics, critics, and naysayers. But dreams really can, and really do, come true. Never let anybody tell you different.

3

Large or small, what matters is that your dreams are your dreams—dreams that flow naturally from your core values and from your unique endowment of blessings and burdens—not from the expectations of others.

4

An authentic dream will make you as you make it. It will teach you, give you courage, confidence, and conviction, and reveal talents and virtues you did not know you possessed.

5

Wealth, fame, and power are not dreams. They are ambitions.

6

An authentic dream brings joy not just to you, but also to others.

7

An authentic dream fulfilled scores a victory not just for you, but for all humanity.

8

One of the greatest joys in life is to create something good, true, and beautiful that would not exist without you.

9

At the risk of being declared naïve or foolhardy, place your bets on the optimist in you, in that “crazy” person who refuses to accept NO for an answer when they know the answer is YES.

10

Beware of anyone who makes a virtue of the word “can’t”—yourself included.

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LOVE: The Four-Letter Word

It took me decades to understand what LOVE really means…

Most of a lifetime to realize…

… that true love is a verb, not a mere sentiment.

… that the greatest meaning, peace, and happiness is made possible by having someone(s) to care about.

… that my capacity to love is measured by my capacity to suffer with and sometimes to suffer for.

… that love doesn’t always feel pleasant, but always feels right.

… that love is being honest when being honest is an act of courage.

… that I should never take away the power of those I love by doing for them that which they can do for themselves.

… that LOVE is the radical faith and freedom to give without keeping score.

… that LOVE is sometimes the only reason to keep on living after every other hope and happiness has been stripped away from us.

… that sometimes all we can do is cry together, holding onto each other with all the compassion and courage we can muster.

… that LOVE is the radical faith and freedom to care about the whole world, not just about my family, friends, neighbors, and those who share my race, country, and creed.

… that LOVE is the radical faith and freedom to care about those I differ with, dislike, and fear—and even those who, in their ignorance and anger, would do me harm.

… that we are all in the same boat, are all brothers and sisters, are all damaged children in one way or another, and all would benefit if we allowed our hopes, fears, virtues, and foibles to unite us in mutual empathy, mutual affection, and shared purpose.

LOVE—where better to invest my freedom, faith, and profound ignorance—no matter what.

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The Power of Words

Words have the power to create or destroy, to inspire or disillusion, to ennoble or corrupt… and thus to spread either joy or misery.

So, what language do you speak?

What language do you want to speak?

Is it the language of contention or peacemaking?

Suspicion or trust?

Competition or collaboration?

Resentment or reconciliation?

Victimhood or empowerment?

Blame or responsibility?

Withdrawal or engagement?

Self-righteousness or humility?

Scarcity or abundance?

In a phrase, are you speaking the language of resignation or hope?

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Beyond Thanksgiving

Every gift—of time, health, wealth, safety, knowledge, talent, skill, experience, opportunity, and freedom—demands something from me…

But this “demand” is no commandment.

Neither is it some resentful duty.

Quite simply, this “demand” is the natural child of perspective:

… of the realization that my successes have far more to do with my privileged inheritance and good fortune than anything I’ve accomplished on my own initiative.

… of the realization that there are so many others who, through no fault of their own, are not as equally blessed.

… of the realization that I can give only because I have the good fortune of having something to give.

… of the realization that we who have fared better in the lottery of life have a natural responsibility to those less fortunate.

… of the realization that the joy of receiving must be reinvested in the joy of giving.

… of the realization that it’s a privilege, not a burden, to share my time, treasure, and talents with others.

… and of the realization that I have so much more to be grateful for than to be proud of.

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