I occasionally have the opportunity to officiate wedding ceremonies, usually for couples with whom I have been privileged to do pre-marital counseling. I have never stood with two people who have felt that they were a poor match with each other. Quite the contrary. However, I sit with couples in my office who have been…
Everyone has struggled in their marriage at some point. And we have all heard the elevated statistics in the U.S. for divorce for first marriages, with numbers for second marriages being even more dismal. But what about those who successfully remain married for decades? What if they have some of the answers? Earlier this year,…
Losing our mom is tough – especially when they have been as giving and sacrificial as my mom. There was nobody who didn’t like Mom. I don’t think it was possible. Following my Dad’s passing 12 years ago, Mom moved from Houston to Colorado Springs so that she would be near us. How very fortunate…
Now I have seen people who have some very strange relatives who just might agree that the cat is the most important member of their family. Actually, my mom could be one of them. But what lengths would people go to for their cat? Troy, a Silicon Valley resident, recently moved when his daughter went…
As you think about that question, several people may run through your mind. Some, as you think about them, may be scratched off of your list, while others are rock solid. Unfortunately, individuals sit in my office almost daily, telling me of someone whom they deeply trusted only to be betrayed at some point. Last…
Wouldn’t that be great! You go to the doctor and say, “I’m lonely.” He takes out his prescription pad and scribbles out illegible words and you drop it off at your nearest Walgreens to be filled. Then you head home with the bottle, take as directed, and voila! – your loneliness is gone. If only…
You probably have but mostly likely don’t know it, if you are like I am and had never seen the word before. A doppelgänger is defined as “a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person.” Research conducted at Brown University found that people easily have a doppelgänger bias. Translated into English – this means…
I frequently hear individuals express their seeming inability to control their reactions to their feelings. They can be intense feelings of anger or of love and they feel compelled to act upon them, often to their own detriment. But here is the truth – you don’t have to act the way you feel. You see,…
Well, we all probably have at least a little of it. But some may have an overabundance. Of course, you may simply be asking – what is it? It is very common for people to mistakenly view themselves as “the star of the show.” They imagine that they are at center stage and everything that…
In our last Relationships Tip Tuesday I discussed the seemingly epidemic growth of loneliness among individuals – both single and married. As promised, I want to take today to suggest a four strategies that we can use to fight back against loneliness. Talk to strangers. You may be in line at the grocery store or…