ODB: Learning to Love

Love does more than make “the world go round,” as an old song says. It also makes us immensely vulnerable. From time to time, we may say to ourselves: “Why love when others do not show appreciation?” or “Why love and open myself up to hurt?” But the apostle Paul gives a clear and simple reason to pursue love: “These three remain: faith, hope and love. But

ODJ: Stay or Run Away?

Waiting in a long line to ride a roller coaster, I considered turning back several times. When it was finally my turn to board, the safety bar in the seat I was to occupy wouldn’t release properly. I was afraid of getting stuck, but I hopped in anyway. When the safety bar came down too tightly on my lap, I felt trapped and scared! I considered waving my hand and asking to be excused from the

ODB: Hoo-ah!

The US Army’s expression “hoo-ah” is a guttural response barked when troops voice approval. Its original meaning is lost to history, but some say it is derived from an old acronym HUA—Heard, Understood, and Acknowledged. I first heard the word in basic training.Many years later it found its way into my vocabulary again when I began to meet on Wednesday mornings with a group of

ODJ: Jealousy and Generosity

Thomas J. DeLong, a professor at Harvard Business School, has noted a disturbing trend among his students and colleagues—a comparison obsession. He writes: “Business executives, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, doctors and other professionals are obsessed with comparing their own achievements against those of others. ...I have interviewed hundreds of HNAPs (High Need for Achieve

ODB: Abba, Father

The scene belonged on a funny Father’s Day card. As a dad muscled a lawn mower ahead of him with one hand, he expertly towed a child’s wagon behind him with the other. In the wagon sat his three-year-old daughter, delighted at the noisy tour of their yard. This might not be the safest choice, but who says men can’t multitask?If you had a good dad, a scene like that can invoke fan

ODJ: On the Fringe

I was once invited to an authors’ party in London. It was a posh affair with caviar and oysters and a private view of a fashion exhibition. Celebrities milled through the crowd and everyone else looked like a celebrity due to their chic fashion sense. I was alone and couldn’t find the one contact I knew was attending the gala. Forty-five minutes later I was still standing by m

ODB: Defeat or Victory?

Each year on June 18 the great Battle of Waterloo is recalled in what is now Belgium. On that day in 1815, Napoleon’s French army was defeated by a multinational force commanded by the Duke of Wellington. Since then, the phrase “to meet your Waterloo” has come to mean “to be defeated by someone who is too strong for you or by a problem that is too difficult for you.”W

ODJ: Taming Anger

“I can feel your anger. I am defenceless. Take your weapon! Strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!” These chilling words were delivered by Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid as he played the role of the Emperor in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. In this memorable scene, the Emperor fruitlessly tried to sway the film&r

ODB: Marathon Reading

When the sun came up on the first day of the seventh month in 444 bc, Ezra started reading the law of Moses (what we know as the first five books of the Bible). Standing on a platform in front of the people in Jerusalem, he read it straight through for the next six hours.  Men, women, and children had gathered at the entrance to the city known as the Water Gate to obser