I believe that ultimately it all comes down to whether we seek conscious contact with God on a daily basis through prayer and meditation.

Always seek less turbulent skies. Hurt. Fly above it. Betrayal. Fly above it. Anger. Fly above it. You are the one who is flying the plane.

Every time we open our hearts, we create the space for a global alternative.

I had an experience that probably is shared by many parents. When my daughter was born, I felt viscerally connected to generations before and after me in a way that took me by surprise.

If I'm honest with myself, I think it's probably true I have learned more in my life through pain than through joy. But hopefully that's changing.

The last thing we should do is allow ourselves to be infantilized by a counterfeit version of enlightenment.

A failure remains a failure only if we refuse to learn from it. Any situation that teaches us greater humility, sobriety, wisdom about self and others, responsibility, forgiveness, depth of reflection, and better decision making -\-\teaching us what's truly important-\-\is not an ultimate failure. Sometimes what we deem a failure at the time it happens actually serves to foster a change within us that creates an even greater success down the road.