Archived Posts

Lessons from the Geese

From Milton Olsen, a naturalist, as told by Angeles Arien

It’s about the greater collective and how we learn from each other.

1. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird following. Flying in a ‘V’ formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if the bird flew […]

The Carpenter

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by somehow.

The contractor was sorry to see his good […]

The Anglican Bishop

Written on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in Westminster Abbey. Compliments of Chris Boyd.

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I realized the world would not change, and I decided to shorten […]

Two Angels

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw […]

The Female Humpback Whale

If you read the front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to […]

1000 Marbles

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. I especially find the first few hours of a Saturday morning most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, what began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. I’ll tell you about it.

[…]

Clay Balls

A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.

They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took […]

About Winning

A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100 yard dash. At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish to run the race to the finish and win.

All, that is, except […]

Always Be a Deaf Frog

Once upon a time there was a race of frogs. The goal was to reach the top of a high tower. Many people gathered to see and support them. The race began.

In reality, the people didn’t believe that it was possible that the frogs would reach the top of the tower, and all the […]

Attitude is Everything

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters […]