The real adversary in our lives, that proverbial thorn in our side that leaves us aching and angry, and then sends us looking for someone to blame, is not what we have always believed. It is not something "out there." It's something "in here": an intimate enemy.

Human beings are endowed with certain features in their nature that may allow them to choose what they become. And since the choice is not whether to become one thing or another, but rather in whose likeness we are becoming, the wise among us see this fact and work accordingly to align ourselves with those forces intuited to be for the highest good. Then their goodness becomes our own, and our...

It always seems that in the face of any crisis the best and the worst of humanity is revealed for all to see. On one hand there are thousands who suddenly become aware (perhaps for the first time) of the pain and loss others feel and, foregoing personal interest, dive into the challenging waters of self-sacrifice and other charitable works of selflessness. At the same time these crises -- esp...