A lively, topical guide on how to respond to life’s inevitable difficulties—from personal crises to broader societal challenges The issue of difficulty in life is at the very essence of Buddhism. One can reasonably translate the first noble truth as, “life is full of difficulties,” with the remaining noble truths serving as Buddhism’s analysis of those difficulties and how to work with them. In Solid Ground, celebrated Buddhist teachers Sylvia Boorstein, Zoketsu Norman Fisher, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche use their diverse wisdom to address the immediate and practical concerns of our lives, including individual crises as well as the political, economic, and social challenges society is currently facing. Together, they explore the most basic and profound questions of Buddhism: the difficulty of life in general and how we can work with that and ameliorate it. Filled with humor and personal stories, Solid Ground offers specific teachings for concrete situations as well as a way to explore the larger questions of finding equanimity in difficult times.

This daily devotional is filled with inspirational true-life stories and personal testimonies from heroes of faith throughout history. You will meet transformed men and women whose love for God led them beyond failure to spiritual success. Start your day on solid ground with these powerful stories.

To be successful, teachers of English in grades 6–12 need more than basic content knowledge and classroom management skills. They need a deep understanding of the goals and principles of teaching literature, writing, oral discourse, and language in order to make sound instructional decisions. This engaging book explores the pedagogical foundations of the discipline and gives novice and future teachers specific guidance for creating effective, interesting learning experiences. The authors consider such questions as what makes a literary text worth studying, what students gain from literary analysis, how to make writing meaningful, and how to weave listening and speaking into every class meeting. Professional learning and course use are facilitated by end-of-chapter reflection questions, text boxes, and appendices showcasing exemplary learning activities.

As a nation faces civil war and slavery is on the risk of collapse, a mountain community must make difficult choices; ones that involve life or death. Ones that risk shattering the bonds between family and friends.North Carolina secedes from the United States of America the same day Transylvania County is formed. It is the same day Robert Hamilton is appointed as its first sheriff.? Many in the community share Robert's opposition to slavery and his public plea to avoid secession, but the call to fight for, and support, the South is louder and clearly expected. Robert must find a way to uphold his oath as sheriff and be true to his conscience, even if it means bending the rules. Yet, he cannot do this alone. Calling on a few close friends and family, Robert hopes to avoid discovery, but there is a problem. Elizabeth Neill, the daughter of his deputy, pursues her interest in a Confederate soldier and harbors a growing suspicion that the Sheriff and his family have secrets. At the same time, her friendship with Pink, a young slave, challenges her naïve perspective on slavery.? As the war rages, the newly-formed county must decide how to confront hunger and ruthless bushwhackers, neither of which honor Union nor Confederate loyalty.? Based on real people and real events,? To Stand on Solid Ground? brings to life an unusual relationship between Confederate loyalists and Union sympathizers.The story is a deeply human take on the Civil War and the multiple battlefronts that challenged this mountain county and its people; struggles which our nation still faces today.? To Stand on Solid Ground? does more than merely report historical events; it transports the reader back in time to face the profound need to support each other in a time of intense polarity.? It offers insight and hope fitting to our current political divide.

If only Robert McNamara had known the Law of Solid Ground, the War in Vietnam, and everything that happened at home because of it, might have turned out differently.

Illusions, delusions, or faulty beliefs prevent us from seeing clearly and acknowledging what we truly are ... beyond personality and even beyond individuality. In sharing the simple facts of his life experience, Art Ticknor takes us on an extraordinary journey, which hopes "to inspire another with a possibly unimagined possibility, and to encourage another to persevere." With a natural storyteller's voice and conversational style that draws the reader in and pulls us gently along, he conveys his view that the journey beyond the mind, to the solid ground of being, will bring full satisfaction to life.

On Solid Ground is informed by current thinking, yet loaded with advice, booklists, ready-to-use reproducibles, andof coursethe words and work of real children.