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Tue, September 26, 2017 | 16:22

Opinion > Columnists > Hyon O'Brien >

Complain or contribute?

I grew up in the 1950s in Wonju, Gangwon Province, with five brothers and one older sister in a cramped household. One thing we learned quickly was not to complain. Not about not having enough personal space and not about having enough clothing and shoes. We never mentioned that we wanted more meat. We knew that no matter how much we complained the end results would be the same. We all accepted the fact that everyone was going through the same hard times, and didn’t try to do anything about it but just accepted our fate. Some people don’t complain, but are galvanized to do something to right...

Hyon O'Brien | 2017-08-11 17:25

Affection and appreciation

One of our nephews recently retired from the U.S. Air Force after 23 years of service. We flew into St. Louis, Missouri to attend the ceremony and join a small family gathering. It was a real eye-opener to participate in the special event done in proper military fashion: a bagpiper, a general's speech and loads of awards and medals followed by the Air Force band's formal musical send-off. We were glad to witness this proud moment in David's life. We spent the next seven days roaming in a great circle starting at the renowned Gateway Arch, traveling through Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illin...

Hyon O'Brien | 2017-07-14 17:38

'The Giving Tree'

Sitting here at our younger daughter's kitchen table in Washington D.C., through the windows I see oak trees, a pine tree, an acacia tree, a fir tree, a magnolia tree and other trees I can't name. They are so tall and wide that the neighbors' houses are almost invisible.

Hyon O'Brien | 2017-06-16 17:30

Coping with changes

Some years ago I injured my right shoulder while playing tennis and had to have surgery to repair a rotator cuff tear, followed by many weeks of physical therapy. I never went back to tennis. This was a radical change for me. I had played tennis for more than 30 years and it had been a major part of my weekly routine wherever I lived. How do I cope with this major change? Now I bike. It is a solitary activity and gives me ample time to think and enjoy the nature around me. But I shall always miss the excitement of playing doubles and outwitting my opponents with stealthy drop-shots. I will m...

Hyon O'Brien | 2017-05-19 17:38

Learning moments

As we Christians worldwide recently celebrated our Holy Week of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter, I realized that I was not familiar with the word Maundy so I looked up its etymology. It is from the Latin mandatum, meaning mandate or order. It comes from Jesus' teaching in John 13:34, urging us to love one another and saying that this was his new commandment. Christ is mandating us to love. At the Last Supper, Christ washed his disciples' feet and showed the importance of serving rather than being served and loving, even by humbling oneself, rather than waiting to be love...

Hyon O'Brien | 2017-04-21 17:26

Some years ago, my younger daughter introduced me to a series of novels that follows the adventures and wanderings of Jack Reacher, a former U.S. Army military police officer. The author, Lee Child, was a new writer for me as I normally don't read thrillers. However, the books were engrossing, and I immediately liked the main character, Jack Reacher (he appears in all 22 books penned by this prolific author, who has been spinning out one or two best-sellers every year since his debut in 1997). The thing that impresses me most is Jack Reacher's austere lifestyle of owning nothing. He is a wan...

Hyon O'Brien | 2017-03-24 17:26

Don't sweat the small stuff

For our book discussion group's choice this month, I picked “River Town” by Peter Hessler. I usually don’t read a book twice, but I chose this one precisely because I wanted to read it again. The story is an account of Hessler's experiences teaching English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a college in Fuling, China between 1996 and 1998. My desire to expose my American friends in our book club to China through the eyes of an American who lived like a local in this town along the Yangtze played a role in the selection, as did the fact that I heard the author speak in Hong Kong during the Intern...

Hyon O'Brien | 2017-02-24 16:38

For the past six years we have lived right at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, appreciating daily the brilliant light of Florida, the Sunshine State. As I walk the beach, sometimes I gaze at the beautiful reflection of light on water with a deep sense of awe at the uplifting power of the bright sun. The light on the water reminds me of other places I have visited that are unforgettable for their unusual light and for the unique nature of the place: the Salt Lake Utah, with 44 percent salinity, is the saltiest body of water in the world while the better known Dead Sea in Israel, with 33.7 perc...

Hyon O'Brien | 2016-12-30 14:36

Turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) once said, "There will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones; it all depends on how you use them."

Hyon O'Brien | 2016-12-02 16:09

Eat half, walk double, laugh triple

A recent Facebook post alerted me to a Tibetan proverb: “Eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure.”

Hyon O'Brien | 2016-11-04 17:16

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