For those who wish to complain for every little thing in their lives, please spare a thought for those who are less well off than yourself.

• Do you have a roof over your head?

• Do you get to eat three square meals a day?

• Do you have a nice warm bed to sleep in?

• Are you in constant danger from being killed violently because of war or internal conflict in your country?

• Are you in danger of losing everything you possess, including your family, because of a natural disaster?

If you can answer favourably to all the above questions, what right do you have to complain?

There are people, as you should all know by now, who have recently lost their home, possessions, and much more importantly, family in the Haiti earthquake. Read more…

To those would be parents, here is some wonderful advice on parenting from Stefan Molyneux, as he applies philosophy and some wisdom to help him with bringing up his seven month old daughter.

I am of the same philosophical mindset to parenting as Stefan, and as I have said in the past, the wisdom I am learning from just observing my little boy has proved so far to be of valuable assistance toward my own personal growth.

When you get the time please also read my posts ‘The Wisdom of Becoming a Child Again’ and ‘The Wise Lessons of Fatherhood: Baby J is 1 Year Old Today!’ to understand how much having a child can teach us about ourselves and life in general.

Please now watch and learn from Stefan as he may give you some wise pointers on making the difficulties of parenthood a little easier, as demonstrated by the following quote from his video A Philosopher As Parent, Read more…

This terrifying day comes but once a year, but some of us wish it wasn’t so
Because those us with a nervous disposition, face the day with a frown and fro

This day is maybe one, but there are those who relive this dreadful fright
Which haunts their minds and their sight, of every day and every night

How does one remove this persistent malady, which affects their mood and their very life
Does one shout “begone my fear!” then hide under the covers
Or does one look for comfort by telling others

“No!” I say, look deep into yourselves, and you will dare to find
A joyful child blooms inside, who likes to dance and sing a rhyme

Become a child like the generation today, who face the 31st with excited haste
So why not dress up like a monster, and make-up an ugly face
Ready to go out into the dark, because tonight is Halloween
Without any fear or any worry,  it’s a tremendous joy to be seen

Read more…

It’s my baby boy’s first birthday today and it serves to remind me that time does really pass in the blink of an eye.

It’s already been a year since I’ve had to dig deep into the recesses of my mind and soul to drag out something called “Philosophy” to help me through the difficulties of fatherhood.

But to be honest with you, it’s got a bit easier since then – Why, you may well ask?  Here’s why:

• father and son have at last bonded (so mummy won’t get too much of a look in from now on)
• son makes me laugh all the time (there’s nothing better than laughter to ease the stresses of life away)
• son has taught me so much wisdom about myself and life (so forget Socrates and the like – they’ve got nothing on my boy)
• son has given me the inspiration to write posts (as for the creation of this blog, I blame a man called Mr Blobby)
• son has hired me to be his Football Coach for the next 17 years (which I’m happy to do for a small fee from his weekly pocket money)
• son will be making his debut for Liverpool Football Club in 17 years (something I was hoping to do myself many moons ago)

Read more…

I was observing my 10 month old boy recently and was fascinated by how much I learned from him about myself and adults in general.

The things I noticed about my boy were:

• very attentive, inquisitive and observant
• very aware of his surroundings and will instantly react to anything that captures his attention, be it sound, sight or smell
• has no fear in exploring and interacting with anything
• joyful and playful spirit
• learns something new every day because of the above

It then struck me that most adults have lost these basic instincts and beneficial attributes of childhood.  Obviously, boundaries through guidance of the child must be laid down eventually, but in most cases we have all but conditioned our children’s minds to become dull, unaware and fearful by the time they reach adulthood.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming (well, maybe I am) parents, teachers and other authority figures for the sorry state of the world, but we must be careful not to impose too much of ourselves onto our children which can debilitate their own personal growth.  After all, don’t we all want to produce wise, intelligent, conscious adults who can make this world better than it is now?
Read more…