The calendar tells me I haven’t written a blog post in exactly three years. It’s not that I haven’t been writing. I write almost every day, and I’m nearing the completion of a memoir. Writing the memoir has been a …
Tomorrow I get married
And of course, I’m feeling all the feelings: Nervous, excited, blessed, scared, lucky, anxious, overwhelmed, vulnerable, proud, happy. Even a little resentful of losing my freedom. Mostly, though, what I feel is that this is where and when and how …
Peak experiences and the life-changing power of awe
Toward the end of his life, American psychologist Abraham Maslow (you’ve probably heard of his hierarchy of needs) recognized something interesting. As he studied the things that allow people to become “self-actualized,” or to reach their fullest potential in life, …
I’m declaring 2017 the year of empathy
Other people suck. I haven’t posted much on the blog lately, but it’s not because I haven’t been writing. I’ve actually been writing a lot, but mostly for an online writing course, which has taken up my creative bandwidth for …
Ask a grackle what time it is
Grackles are my favorite birds. You can keep your peacocks and parrots, robins and roadrunners. I’ll take grackles any day. Sure, they’re kind of ugly. They have an abrasive call. They’re annoying and invasive, and they frighten other birds away. …
I’ve stopped trying to be happy. Now I’m doing this.
True confession time: For a period of about three years, I paid a stranger to listen to my deepest, most embarrassing secrets. Part of the arrangement was that he was supposed to give me useful advice without judging me (though …
What you focus on matters…so focus on the BIG things
Happy Doomsday (aka, Election Day)! Now that this day’s finally here, I hereby officially add my name to list of millions worldwide who are excited to see this cosmic joke of an election cycle come to an end (or at …
How to find the meaning in your suffering
Let me tell you about Annie. Annie (not her real name) was the girlfriend of someone in my extended family. A few months after the two of them moved in together, her partner (my family member) was killed in a …
On dying early
On March 28, 1942, an elite but untested force of British Commandos conducted one of the most daring raids ever attempted behind enemy lines during World War II. It happened at a critical moment of the war, as France had …
Floating to enlightenment? What I discovered inside a floatation tank
In my eighth grade English class, when we had finished our daily assignment, we were allowed to read until the bell rang. To facilitate this bonus learning opportunity, our teacher kept a small display of paperback books at the back …