Never worry

 "What can be corrected should be corrected at once, without any worry. And as for what cannot be corrected, worrying will not help."

--Touching Heaven, Touching Earth

Rules for Helping

• You should only help people who want and need help

• There must be mutual respect between the helper and the helpee.

• You must understand the point of view of the people you are helping. You must know their goals.

• You have to actually help, not just talk about helping

• Helping without consent is hurting. Don’t jeopardize your friendships, business relationships and reputations by doing anything without consent.

• You must weigh the potential benefit of the help with unknown and known harms

• Helping should increase dignity, not diminish it 

“I’m a Buddhist, I’m a Muslim, I’m a Christian. It all comes down to the same thing — you’re in a loving place or you’re in an unloving place.” --Jim Carrey

So Linda Tripp just died. If you recall, she exposed President Clinton's indiscretions.

I don't normally say bad things about the dead (or even the living) but Tripp is an exception. She was loathsome!

To recap, Tripp pretended to be Monica Lewinsky's friend. After gaining her confidence, Tripp illegally recorded her conversations with Lewinsky. If that wasn't enough betrayal, she then wore a wire for the FBI.

Tripp tried to justify her actions as "protecting women", but in fact, she wanted to become a celebrated author. I'm not sure how she overlooked the immense pain and embarrassment she caused her naive "friend."

My takeway: The people who record conversations without consent are almost always worse than the people they're recording.

We are each responsible for our own happiness. (That's what every book on happiness says).

I wonder. Is this true even if you're in prison for crimes you didn't commit and the guard hurts you every night?

You can choose to make the best of your experience in prison. But you're not to blame if you feel uncontrollable sadness.

"...If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

--supposedly said by Albert Einstein

I'm watching Ozark on Netflix. What a great show!

Jason Bateman and Laura Linney star as a stressed-out married couple who work for a drug cartel.

In season 3, they begin seeing a marriage therapist. Unbeknost to each other, both Bateman and Linney bribe the therapist. Bateman wants the therapist to agree with him. Linney wants the therapist to agree with her. They don't want an impartial mediator to help solve their relationship issues. Instead, each spouse wants to be right.

The idea of "trusted" advisors being on the take is devastating. Imagine following the advice of paid professionals only to learn they're not really looking out for you, only pretending to. Sadly this happens all the time. For example, financial advisers don't always have a fiduciary duty (to look out for your best interests).