It seems that we are hearing lots today about “fake news.” As I heard Denzel Washington say, “If you don’t watch the news you are uninformed and if you watch the news you are misinformed.” He went on to say that media is more concerned about being the first to report something than they are…
“Perfect! My spouse is to blame for my excess weight. I knew that it couldn’t be my fault. I mean the fact that I love candy, cookies, Big Macs, and (in my case) Blue Bell ice cream – well, let’s just say that I am happy to learn that none of those things are making…
In part 1 of this discussion last week I talked about the difficulties we face if we allow our lives to become stuck with old wounds and offenses. We may have encountered harsh jealousy and selfish behavior from a sibling, feelings of betrayal that we felt over a cheating spouse, or the loss of a…
I sat with a single mother the other day as she expressed her anger and frustration regarding her ex-husband and a looming custody fight. As she recounted various woundings, I listened with understanding and empathy. I was about to ask how many months they had been apart when she gave an indication that they had…
During the last three weeks we have been looking at how technology impacts our most precious relationships. In recent years, cells phones have begun to occupy greater and greater prominence in our lives. While it certainly puts the world at our fingertips, it also has contributed to incredible strain on our most significant relationships. We…
In 2016 Psychology Today called attention to the fact that smartphones fragment human consciousness. They contend that the habitual use of smartphones lowers our ability to be empathetic as well as diminishes the “quality of conversation.” This is our third in a series addressing technology and our relationships. In the first post we looked at…
Chicago psychologist, Nicole Martinez reported that in a study of young married women, “70 percent reported that face-to-face conversations were stopped in their tracks by a partner’s phone use or even active texting.” These intrusions have been referred to by some as “technoference.” We began last week to take a look at some of the…
“You’re with your other husband again,’ Marilyn’s only husband would say every time she turned to her cellphone while the two were driving to dinner. She thought he was just being his witty-self.” But then his words began to get to her. In the last couple of years, I have written increasingly about our preoccupation…
Do you ever wonder, if you could be a fly on the wall at your office, your home, your friend’s house, or even your church – what would you hear people saying about you? Would they speak of your kindness and generosity or are they more likely to be discussing your self-centered arrogance? Do people…
Oh the things that we stumble onto when we are cleaning out. A couple of weeks ago I was going through some old books when I came across a grocery store coupon that was inside one of them. All I can figure is that at some point in time, when I was reading it, I…