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“I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.” –E.B. White

Last Sunday the Chattering clan gathered at my in-laws’ suburban home to celebrate the birthday of Mr. Chattering’s father Martin. Near the table was a vat of caffeine-free, sugar-free Diet Coke. As our eleven-year-old son lunged for that bottle like a man stranded on a desert isle, I calmly asked my mother-in-law what else she…

Speaking of that smarmy Stuart Smalley, did you know that years ago, Al Franken wrote a hilarious book based on his classically nasal, co-dependent, self-help group-addicted SNL character? As the King of Affirmations, in I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!, “Smalley” recommends repeating slogans like: When I go home…

There’s a “smarmy Stuart Smalley” quality to the affirmations I posted yesterday, writes faithful reader Pacific231. As an antidote, she or he suggests discussing Buddhist “pith” teachings. Great idea. A pith saying is a distilled lesson, a gist, a bit of wisdom boiled down to its essence. In the same way that “pith” can also…
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