Phillip Berry | Orient Yourself

“Poppy is a man of his word.” I paused and looked at Cooper. He was talking to his sister but looking at me. I asked, “What does it mean to be a man of your word?” “It means you do what you say you’re going to do,” he replied. Not bad for a six year […]

“I’ll just go where insurance tells me to go.” So ended a recent conversation with my 84-year-old mother-in-law as she told us about her effort to get a brace prescribed for her by her physician and the requirement that she drive an hour to the correct point of access for the product she needed. One […]

Strong is such a curious, multi-faceted word. A strong structure can weather the storm, withstand attack, or endure earthquakes. Strong people can also endure, withstand, or weather. Strength can be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. We speak of strength of character in facing struggles or temptation. One might be strong in her faith or strong […]

Today is Sunday, February 11, 2024. For those who follow such things, today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes, the day little Bernadette Soubirous first encountered the “little lady” in a grotto at what is now Lourdes, France. Many years later, she would become St. Bernadette. It also happens to be the […]

Is not life on earth a drudgery,its days like those of a hireling? Job 7:1 Drudgery. It’s really a depressingly tough word. The slog. The grind. The struggle. Drudgery evokes a sense of despair, a great sigh at the difficulty of simply moving forward. We all get it. We understand the word because we’ve all […]

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the worstAre full of passionate intensity. from The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Everykingdom divided […]

There are places I’ll rememberAll my life though some have changedSome forever not for betterSome have gone and some remain All these places had their momentsWith lovers and friends I still can recallSome are dead and some are livingIn my life I’ve loved them all The Beatles, In My Life This Week a Year Ago […]

The Clarity of Forward Motion Perhaps it’s the energy generated from conversations. Maybe it’s the sense of movement created by setting some appointments or the progress toward the closing of a round of financing. It could be the powerfully motivating speaker or an inspiring strategic planning session. Whatever the case may be, the right combination […]

You knew what you had to do,though the wind priedwith its stiff fingersat the very foundations,though their melancholywas terrible.It was already lateenough, and a wild night,and the road full of fallenbranches and stones.But little by little,as you left their voices behind,the stars began to burnthrough the sheets of clouds,and there was a new voicewhich you […]

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to meSpeaking words of wisdom, let it be The Beatles Over 43 years ago, the song, Let It Be was released by The Beatles. It quickly hit number one in the United States and about a month after its release, Paul McCartney announced his […]