We either are fascinated with the past or with the future, even if we attempt to keep reasonable balance in seeing both the good and bad parts of the past as well as the dual potential for either wonderful things or large scale disasters in the future.

And knowledge was not at all synonymous with information. How many leafs are on a tree is information. What time of year the leafs fall is knowledge.

In the words of Jeremy da Silva, the expert in question, “empathy and compassion compensated for the physical disadvantages of bipedalism”.

The second is the very fact that difficult moral moments usually arise when we have to make what seems like competing, mutually exclusive choices, all within acceptable moral norms.

Mother Earth embodies so well that innocence as she generously entertains everyone and tries to give us joy, sustenance and her great purifying powers.

There is one relationship that is beyond the boundaries of family and that is said to be even more long-lasting and essential for human life. It is the bond between student and teacher.

How many of us have ever wondered how come we perceive beauty ? And how come the entire creation around us is so beautiful, in a way that universally speaks to all mankind?

The roots of loneliness and isolation are many but eventually a “shell” settles within us and we have a very hard time breaking through it and reconnecting.

But what is culture ? Every definition - and there are dozens and dozens - that we can find is human-centric.

But on closer inspection Christmas appears as a perfect time to reflect on the primacy of the Spirit / Self over matter.