When you go through a crazy season and need to regroup, how do you find your bearings? In our family we forged a set of shared waypoints — the five ideas we use to gain perspective and clarify what matters:

• It’s better to be than to seem.
• Love is stronger than will.
• Seek the truth.
• Take the long view.
• Remember the goal.

They may not help you decide the details, but they’ll decide the details you’re dealt.