Blog Posts

  • Tips for finding your purpose in life

    Tips for finding your purpose in life

    Have you heard of the Japanese term Ikigai? Ikigai is basically a Japanese word for your purpose in life or a happy life. “Iki” means to live and “gai” means reason, so the word literally means the reason to live. It’s a combination of what you’re passionate about, what you’re good at, how you can…

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  • An alleviation and a blessing

    An alleviation and a blessing

    Excerpt from Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver This is an excerpt from the book Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver. Adults can change their circumstances; children cannot. Children are powerless, and in difficult situations they are the victims of every sorrow and mischance and rage around them, for children feel all of these things…

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  • How buying less can help you do more

    How buying less can help you do more

    Have you ever wondered how shopping impacts your life? As I was reading The Year of Less by Cait Flanders, she discusses her experience of embarking on a year long shopping ban, where she doesn’t let herself buy anything except essentials and a few predetermined items. In this book, she talks about the revelations she…

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  • The most beautiful word

    The most beautiful word

    Mother by Kahlil Gibran This is an excerpt from The Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran, discovered in the anthology of his work called The Voice of Kahlil Gibran, translated by A.R. Ferris. The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word ‘Mother’, and the most beautiful call is the call of ‘My…

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  • Conversation with Telemachus

    Conversation with Telemachus

    Excerpt from Circe by Madeline Miller This is an excerpt from the book Circe by Madeline Miller. ‘And your mother? What did she think?’ ’I do not claim to know what my mother thinks.’ His voices had stiffened. They had not spoken to each other all night, I remembered. ’She brought you up herself. You…

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  • Understanding why you work

    Understanding why you work

    Ever feel lost when trying to decide what kind of career you want to have? This simple activity is a great why to reframe your thoughts on work, by outlining your workview. It helps by identifying the why before starting to consider the kind of work you want to do. The workview concept comes from…

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  • She could never forgive her community

    She could never forgive her community

    Excerpt from Meridian by Alice Walker This is an excerpt from the book Meridian by Alice Walker. She could never forgive her community, her family, his family, the whole world, for not warning her against children. For a year she had seen some increase in her happiness: She enjoyed joining her body to her husband’s…

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  • How to design a life with purpose

    How to design a life with purpose

    Do you feel like unsatisfied with your current life, but unsure of how to change? As I was reading the book Designing your Life by Bill Burnet and Dave Evans, I learned so many useful tips and tools to build a better life. Keep reading below for what stood out to me and some simple…

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  • Her mind was made up

    Her mind was made up

    Excerpt from Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi This is an excerpt from the book Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, translated by Geoffrey Trousselot. Her mind was made up. Or, more accurately, a stubborn resolve had taken root. Kazu just stood there impassively. Fumiko could imagine that if she had…

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  • I perceive but the wine itself

    I perceive but the wine itself

    Poets by Kahlil Gibran This is an excerpt from The Forerunner by Kahlil Gibran, discovered in the anthology of his work called The Voice of Kahlil Gibran. Four poets were sitting around a bowl of punch that stood on a table. Said the first poet, ‘Methinks I see with my third eye the fragrance of…

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