Home > Author > Greg Cootsona
1 " CS Lewis may make difficult questions accessible. I don't think he makes answers 'easy. – Debra Winger "
― Greg Cootsona
2 " CS Lewis's humor supported his exposition but never dominated or diminished it. "
3 " Henri Nouwen remains one of the greatest spiritual writers of the twentieth century, and he is a model of how to embody spiritual health....David, a friend of mine, had the opportunity to talk with Nouwen during the final year of his life....David posed a single question to the spiritual giant, "Henri, what is the key to the spiritual life?" Nouwen, with his hands moving from his solar plexus out, stated simply: 'Live from the center. Live from the center. "
― Greg Cootsona , Say Yes To No: Using The Power Of No To Create The Best In Life, Work, and Love
4 " One final note: we need to say no to caring only for our friends and say yes to the call of service. I will point out that there are two kinds of social capital: bonding, which happens between the like-minded and which has been the bulk of this chapter; and bridging, which jumps over barriers and connects people separated by economics, ethnicity, age, and the like. My contention here is that sufficient bonding social capital sets us up for valuable bridging social capital-which, in my opinion, our culture desperately needs and which is necessary for our flourishing as human beings. In fact, as a Christian, I believe that God calls us to recognize the divine image in all those who bear it-and that's everyone. We are called to love our neighbor, which is reasonably self-evident. Jesus, in his poignant story about the Good Samaritan, taught that our neighbor is not just the person who is like us but anyone in need. He coached us not to simply to bond with those who are like us but to make bridges. "
5 " It's also good enough for the best-selling novelist Anne Lamott, who continually combines humor, humanity, and profound spiritual insight in her work. She says, "Every time you say Yes, when you mean No, you abandon yourself a little; and eventually too much sand is going to leak out of your burlap sacks, and you're going to be operating out of a place of emptiness and deprivation and resentment. Whereas, when you say No, when you mean No, you create a little glade around you in which you can get the nourishment you need. "
6 " As his former student Alastair Fowler once remarked, "Lewis seemed always on the verge of hilarity -- between a chuckle and a roar. "
7 " The management guru Stephen Covey offers this insight about no and how it keeps important things in focus: 'Keep in mind that you are always saying "no" to something. If it isn't in the apparent, urgent things in life, it is probably to the more fundamental, highly important things. "
