God makes no mistakes. In all our trials and dramas there are lessons. Life is not a playground but a classroom. Our journey through life provides the course work and the tests needed for our education and development.

The more we nourish our internal world, the more powerful we grow in the external world.

See the inevitable changes not as threats but as opportunities that can deepen our understanding and bring us wisdom and growth.

Self-hate is a form of mental slavery that results in poverty, ignorance, and crime.

Use missteps as stepping stones to deeper understanding and greater achievement.

We mustn't reserve communing with God just for morning and evening prayers, or for weekly worship service, or for when we feel burdened. The goal is to realize that every moment of our lives is a meditation. Allow yourself to marvel at the wonder of God's work all around us. Throughout your day, let the sun, a tree, a piece of fruit remind you that everything you could ever want has been provided and can be found right here on earth.

The lessons of the past suggest that racism and resentment against people of color will continue to flourish in America as long as the history that is taught transposes the heroes and the villains. That is the unspoken truth at the heart of the nation's racial divide.