Finding Happiness

Several years ago, back when I was contemplating a change in careers, I did an exercise where I described my “ideal day.” My description basically reads as follows: I spend my mornings writing, followed by some other, related creative…

I’ve been single for the last 20+ years. I got married in 1964, when I was 20 years old. I was married for 18 years (really, 15 years because that is when we separated). And then, after that, I had a relationship with a significant other for 17 years…

You’d think that, after 60, we wouldn’t have a reason to compare ourselves with others. After all, we’ve already led full lives so why aren’t we comfortable in our own skin? The truth is, the comparison game is something many of us…

Most people want to live happy, productive lives. One way to create a life worth living is to share your joy and passion with others, through service. Studies have shown that giving back contributes to better health. Volunteering…

How many times have you found yourself feeling weighed down with an unexpected life crisis that involved your health, finances, relationships, and even the state of the world? What if I said a life crisis can be avoided, stress relieved, and the overall quality…

As a child (and into adulthood), I experienced abuse: sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional. Both my parents were narcissists, one more severe than the other: my mother was an alcoholic, and my father had a sex addiction. As a result, I was highly insecure…

As a hospice volunteer, one of the many things I’ve come to understand is that everyone faces serious illness and the prospect of death differently. There’s simply no “right way” or “wrong way” to approach it…

Can you relate to bargaining with the contents of your emotional baggage? Maybe you’ve looked at the contents several times over the course of your life. You may have even convinced yourself the more troubling contents were not all that bad…

I was walking across the street toward our mailbox and was suddenly overtaken by a high-speed mass of curly, blond hair. It was a large, young, long-legged Labradoodle – airborne. She had come running from the street behind mine…

There are certainly a number of reasons to feel down as we get older: loss of friends, loss of loved ones, loss of mobility, having to move, and so on. When you are faced with enough stressful situations for long enough…