I know you are probably thinking – “Such profound words,” or maybe not. This a phrase I have jokingly used for decades, as it is more of an absurd statement of the obvious. However, if we dig a little deeper, it might not be as absurd as we think. Author Jon Kabat-Zinn, actually used this…
Following the death of his mother, a rabbi once wrote: Some people say the secret to happiness can be broken down into three elements: something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to. I had something to do – I was a rabbi, and my congregants were counting on me to function…
In 1774, future President John Adams penned the following: We see every day that our imaginations are so strong and our reason so weak, the charms of wealth and power are so enchanting, and the belief of future punishments so faint that men find ways to persuade themselves to believe any absurdity, to submit to…
Author and therapist Eric Scalise writes, “We now live in the most technologically connected, but relationally disconnected, culture this country has ever experienced.” “Goodness, what did people do when they had an hour commute home from work and were unable to connect with a family member . . . unless, of course, they wanted to…
Poet William Yeats wrote, “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” How sharp do you think your senses are? If you are like most of us, especially if you live in a big city, they may have grown dull over time. I remember when I moved from…
That may seem like a strange question. I mean habits are just what we do over and over – aren’t they? Well, sort of. Things that we do repetitively can certainly become habits. And we all have certain bad habits that we would like to break; things like biting our fingernails, eating pop tarts for…
Over recent months I have occasionally written about some of the dangers of too much technology use and its impact on everything from our brain to our relationships. Today I want to borrow and adapt some insightful suggestions from brain expert Dr. Daniel Amen regarding steps we can take to increase our healthiness in these…
Sitting with a couple this afternoon, I listened as the wife, in tears, talked about the repeated negative cycles she and her husband experience – and re-experience. It seems that her husband works to make changes, but after a couple of weeks, defaults to old patterns. Why? Many times it has to do with a…
Now you are probably thinking, “Well, that’s a silly question. Of course I want to enjoy pleasure. Who doesn’t?” And I would certainly agree with you. But what if I told you that many of us are doing the very things that could make experiencing pleasure more difficult? Whenever we do something that brings us…
Today is a sad day. Yesterday, (as I write this it is July 31st) I had to put one of my beloved dogs to sleep. He was 12 years old and had been battling serious health issues for about 4 months. He was a fighter but yesterday it was clear that he was tired of…