Top Highlights

• My mother came down hard on me. I had committed the sin of pride. Pride is a mortal sin. Mortal sins are the kind that get you damned to hell for all eternity.
• I have resolved to live my life from here on out taking nothing for granted. Yesterday I walked down the sidewalk, giving thanks for each breath. For the crisp British Columbia air entering my lungs. For the shoes on my feet. For the ability to walk. For the leaves falling from the trees. For the rain falling softly on my umbrella.
• My prayer for you is that it doesn’t take a disaster to remind you to savor the magic of each moment. That you wake up grateful, give thanks with every breath, and go to sleep each night bathed in the wonder of a life mindfully lived.
• Surprisingly, a statue of the Buddha had survived intact. It sat in the ashes of our office building surrounded by debris. Calm and serene, it was a reminder of the permanence of intangible values. I wrote this blog about it in the Huffington Post.
• The important things—love, connection, compassion, awareness, trust, faith—cannot be destroyed. When everything around them is burned away by the fires of life, their outlines stand out more boldly.