Advice
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DEPENDENT ON INDEPENCE
There is a line in the Declaration of Independence that has long intrigued me: “all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” It intrigues me because of the truth of it. We do suffer, and… Read more
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WHY DREAM?
Poet Langston Hughes once wrote, “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” Where would we be without our dreams? They keep us buoyed with hope, consolidate our memories and help transform our emotional distress into resilience. Without them, what is there to look forward to? Dreams are… Read more
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PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM
I spend many hours here as my fingers tease melodies out of the keys. Listening to the piano over my lifetime has connected it with so many events that my experience of it has become emotional. Science says that each time I listen, the moments press a sustain pedal in my brain, making the experience… Read more
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WHAT’S WRONG WITH A LITTLE ATTENTION?
In my youth, I was shy and hugely concerned about what others thought. During my first year in college, a professor asked me a question and my reply was so soft that he couldn’t hear my answer. When the guy behind me repeated what I had just said for me, I figured it was time… Read more
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THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU!
I have played pickleball under these signs countless times for several years. Until someone took this picture, I didn’t realize just how many, “NO’s” were above my head. There are nine to be exact. Why didn’t I see them before? Likely it’s because I’m always looking for the “Yes” in things, not the “No.” So, I wonder why… Read more
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CURIOSITY BREEDS CREATIVITY
While I was straining to see inside a woodpecker’s nest, this Kingsnake slid right past my left foot and into this dead, tree trunk. Had it been a rattler, my curiosity might have led to a different outcome! I’ve been curious since I was little and asked a stranger, “Are you a gardener? Your hands… Read more
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“We don’t stop playing because we get old. We get old because we stop playing.”–GB Shaw
When was the last time you played or did something spontaneous that wasn’t scripted? Maybe you hung upside down on the monkey bars, flew a kite or pulled a harmless prank on someone. Most adults do not play enough. When I ask clients when they last did something fun, many say, “I don’t remember.” But ‘all work… Read more
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OLD IS NOT OVER. . .
Yesterday, the produce man was explaining to a woman how to tell when mangos are ripe. “The more wrinkled they get, the sweeter they are,” he assured her. “Just like me!” I piped up. They both looked over but neither got it. Interestingly, science says that time does make us kinder. Soon, I’ll be the nicest person on Earth!!… Read more
Adult Aging, Advice, aging, books, Commentary, fiction, Humor, Inspiration, lucy, Philosophy, romance, writing -
JUDGE THE COVER, MISS THE BOOK
Just when I think I’m seeing things clearly, I get thrown a curve ball. As I enter the produce section of Trader Joe’s, there is a man fondling the bananas. Yes, fondling. He eventually pulls off only one. I’m intrigued. His clothes are ill fitting and shabby and the seat of his trousers seems oil… Read more
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LIGHT IT UP
As a therapist, I’ve seen my share of suicides, psychotics, schizophrenics and other tortured souls: Men and women abusing each other or themselves. Couples with unrealistic expectations of their partners. Addicts unable to stop using drugs, eating food or watching porn and a populace that has seemingly lost its’ purpose. Recently, a teenager told me… Read more
AGEFULLY AGING 