Life

As I watched John Lewis’s casket roll over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, I thought of the refrain, “if you can remember the 60’s you really weren’t there.” Paul Kanter’s allusions to mindboggling drugs...

Everyone wants to be happy. But it might make more sense to sneak up on happiness by reducing misery. Here are six proven strategies you can use today.

Hannah glides through the fog as if an apparition—beautiful and giving as if Jesus himself is pouring her out of a wine bottle. I point my old Leica towards her as she stands in front of a Monterey Pine, its branches bent eastward from years of persistent winds. This will be more than just another picture I’ll add to my collection.

Why should you choose to be compassionate to someone who emotionally hurt you? Why not just reinforce those behaviors you approve of and punish those you don’t?

Helpless? Everyone at one time experiences it due to aging, declining health, shattered relationships, or deteriorating world conditions. The way we confront the feeling shapes our lives. I learned how to deal...

We are faced with a morality crisis that will structure the values of our country for generations. As a voting rights activist in Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 I watched proud parents hand their children rocks...

The words we use and questions we ask ourselves often shape our lives in ways that can be insightful or hurtful. What is the meaning of life is an example of the latter.

There was a time when apologies were made in person, where you looked someone in the eyes, admitted what you did was wrong, cruel, unintentional, or just stupid, and listened to their reactions, as difficult as they were to hear.

The defeat of Roy Moore brings back memories of my arrest in Alabama 52 years ago. It was March, 1965 and there was a nationwide call for college students to descend on Montgomery in support of the civil rights workers marching from Selma.

In this holiday season, we are obsessed with what to give people we love. Few of us think about what we can give ourselves. So here is a suggestion. One that will not cost you anything, other than the anger...

There are more things that can cause depression as we age. I can’t run as fast or as far as I did ten years ago, my weight only fluctuates upward, I take more time to process information, and I feel under...

Stability, as we age, is more important than excitement. In Part I of this three-part series, I explained the role of stability in aging. In Part II I elaborated on its role in chronic and progressive...

We often underestimate the need for introducing stability in the lives of people living with chronic and progressive illnesses. In Part I of this three-part series, I explained the role of stability in aging....

We often try to isolate events in our lives from everything that precedes and follows it. The practice is delusional at best, destructive at it’s worst.  In Part I of this series I questioned the notion...

Maybe it’s because I recently turned 70 and finally acquired the wisdom gained from numerous failures. Or possibly I realize that winning isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Regardless of the reason, just...

We are led to believe success means winning; whether it’s defeating cancer, coming out ahead in a negotiation, prevailing in a family conflict or justice for a wrong committed against us. These daily...

You are about to spend time and money on a program guaranteeing you will be slimmer, shapelier, healthier, or more successful. You’re motivated to change, but you were also motivated in the past when you...

We place our trust in experts to instruct us how to change. With failure, we rarely blame the expert or her program. Most of the time, that’s where the responsibility should rest. Confusing What and How of...

Advice gurus flood Saturday morning cable shows with programs on weight loss, exercise, wealth management, and becoming more authentic. By following their instructions we will become the person we deserve to...

In some ways, our memories are like a herd of cattle on an open range; trying to go in whatever direction they choose. Unless they can be controlled and understood, their recall can be destructive. In Part...