Awe for me is a spiritual event – sometimes surprising me with an intense emotional reaction. I’ve never really thought about it much. When I experience the deeply moving type of awe, it has always seemed like a super special bonus, and frankly it is generally unanticipated. Never before have I had an explicit …
Read more “I am an Awe Junky: Why this might be a good thing”
The year 2011 proved to be a challenging year. A number of serious health issues in close family members took center stage. The frequency of my posts declined in part due to these important distractions but other factors also played a major role. Although I published fewer articles, the number of visits to my blog …
Read more “2011- A Year in Review: How Do You Think?”
I’m not an emotional man. As such, I rarely experience the extremes of sadness or joy. This is not to say that I do not experience joy or sadness – I do. I take great pleasure in life and also feel the pain that comes with it. But, I am very stable and steadfast – …
Read more “The Tears of Strength in Cancer’s Wake.”
I have often said: “Life has a way of getting in the way of itself.” I had been implying that life plans don’t necessarily work out due to the vagaries of life itself. In my wife’s case, a more literal interpretation is fitting. A DNA replication error set in place a rapid cell duplication process …
Read more “Up and ever onward: My wife’s battle with cancer.”
Isn’t it interesting how hard times help us bring into focus that which is really important? I believe that this is true in our day-to-day lives as well as in the mindset of a nation. True crises sharpen our vision and help us cut through the minutia that often takes precedence in our day to …
Read more “Time to Take a Fresh Look At Consumption”
Happiness keeps popping up in my life. Not just the feeling, but the topic. In fact, this morning I woke up to a text asking me how happy I was. That didn’t make me feel happy at all. More on that in a minute. Ever since my recent posts on happiness, it feels like relevant …
Read more “Happiness: It’s About Perspective”
Are you Happy? What makes you happy? These questions, although seemingly rudimentary, are more difficult to answer than you might think. As it turns out, happiness, as a condition, eludes clear understanding. Throughout history, mankind has grappled with a definition of this emotion. Perhaps the most meaningful framing of happiness is rooted in the …
Read more “Happiness: An Elusive Conundrum?”
I have long suspected that a certain amount of adversity in life ultimately leads to greater degrees of happiness. This is contrary to the commonly held notion that suggests that traumatic stress is inherently harmful. It can be argued, as Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” I’m in …
Read more “Adversity – Had Enough?”
How one chooses to live one’s life is complicated by the uncertainties of tomorrow. Often there is an internal tug of war between the interests de jour and those that will be realized tomorrow. Due to the wonders of compounded interest, it is wise to save as much as you can – as early as …
Read more “Plan for Tomorrow – Live for Today”