From the Chaplain's Desk

No Execution Without Vulnerability

July 22, 2018 by CMLMD Admin

COLLEGE PARK, MD –

We sat with it last week: there is no success without execution. If we take a step back from that one, we can see that there is also no execution without vulnerability.

Most people do not like being vulnerable, but it is in accepting difficult medicine that we heal from the various forms of illness in our lives.

Many try to cope with the discomfort of the idea they are not independent by feigning imperviousness in relationships, including but not limited to: parent to child, child to parent, spouse to spouse, sibling to sibling, friend to friend, and, ultimately, the son of Adam to his Creator.

The Point of Execution

July 15, 2018 by CMLMD Admin

COLLEGE PARK, MD –

At the end of the day, succession is about execution – having a vision for improvement, planning for it, and responsibly pushing to see it come to fruition.

I want to focus on that execution this morning, specifically the point of execution. Execution in a larger context could aptly be described as a process.

During the general process of executing a plan, however, there is a specific point of execution, a climax, the crescendo of an effort that is the demarcation between wanting to improve and actually improving. [Read more…] about The Point of Execution

Building Capacity for Piety

July 8, 2018 by CMLMD Admin

COLLEGE PARK, MD –

We’ve been on the topic of filial piety for a few weeks now. Given the importance of getting this aspect of life correct, that seems fitting.

Last week, we left off on the note that we must edify our family structures and give our children an emotional home to fit into.

Without doing so, filial piety will consist of token gestures at best. The fulfillment of parental needs will go unaddressed and families will wither away.

They may disintegrate completely or remain in a ceremonial function – either way, real homes consisting of people who invest in each other will not be the case.

Family structures with defined roles and expectations are necessary for real homes to exist – homes in which a mutually beneficial symbiosis exists between parents and children that makes filial piety something natural and achievable.

A Place to Call Home

July 1, 2018 by CMLMD Admin

COLLEGE PARK, MD –

Achieving filial piety is a lofty goal. It always has been and always will be. It has never been easy.

That achievement is a product of not just children’s piety, but of their parents’ proficiency at building capacity – capacity for their heirs to flourish.

It is a two-way street. [Read more…] about A Place to Call Home

Fill Roles or Open Holes

June 24, 2018 by CMLMD Admin

COLLEGE PARK, MD –

Last week we searched for where to find family success.

There are some important follow-up points related to the topic. Let’s pick up right where we left off.

Where to Find Family Success

June 17, 2018 by CMLMD Admin

CHICAGO, IL –

Happy Eid to all our dear readers! Congratulations on completing the month of Ramadan.

God accept all your works. Amen.

On these days of Eid, many of us spend much time with family, and deservedly so. They are our lifeblood and cornerstones. Getting family right is of paramount importance to our well-being in both worlds.

And getting family right starts with our parents.
[Read more…] about Where to Find Family Success