Last month, I finally did the inevitable. I went to an optometrist—rather my wife took me to one—to get my eyes checked. I’d been squinting for a while but refusing to acknowledge the obvious. I wasn’t happy, of course. Up until that day, I’d been resisting the visit because I wanted to go without glasses till I turned sixty, which was only seven months away, and boast about it. Now, I was left with a humbling: “I was almost sixty when I got my first glasses.” I suppose I cou

None of these stories or parables are new. They have been told and retold countless times, yet they never lose their moral appeal. Inspired and adapted from Zen, Sufi and other tales of the wise, they’re simple and uplifting, carrying timeless insights passed down through the ages. Perhaps that’s why they still resonate with readers: the world keeps changing, but wisdom never loses its power to inspire humans to live ethical, meaningful and compassionate lives. Why are y

I learnt to read time back in elementary school, as I’m sure most of us did. If I remember correctly, it took me less than an hour to master the big hand, the small hand and the seconds hand, and how they worked together to tell the hours, minutes and seconds. It was only when I grew up that I realised there was more to glancing at the clock and telling the time in a split second. I soon found out that time is one of the most deceptive things in life. One moment, the second

Paramahansa Yogananda, the renowned yogi, once said, “Blessed are those who do not indulge in sensational news.” To that timeless wisdom, one might add, “Blessed, still, are those who do not read or consume distressing news.” But in this 24/7 plugged-in world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the flood of bad news. There’s so much of it that at times it seems inescapable, leaving you anxious and somewhat apprehensive about your present and future. While you can’t control g