Life – a cup at a time
No, Positive Realism is living in reality with joy as the foundation. As in so many arenas of modern life, people seem to be polarized between Positive thinking and Realistic thinking, as if the two can’t coexist. One group is said to be woo-woo Pollyannas and the other is said to be mired in the …
What are the things that get to you? For me, it’s the little things. But it’s also little things that can get me back where I need to be. I’m one of those who, when faced with an emergency, tends to think calmly and logically, not reacting emotionally until everything is done and it’s “safe” …
There’s something about being in the mountains that refreshes my mind and lifts my spirits. Other wild country can do it, too, like the canyon lands of Utah, but high-elevation mountains are the best for me. It’s been three years since I’ve taken a vacation, and that’s too long — for me, anyway. Even before …
Is your faith boxed up so tight that Life is going to smash it to smithereens? Or maybe it has already. [A note to my atheist, agnostic, and non-Christian readers: We all believe in something, whether it is science, nature, humanity, Rah, Allah, Krishna or something else. When was the last time you thought about …
When the answers are absent or unfathomable In journalism, you’re taught to ask the six questions for any story: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Scientists tend to concentrate on the What, When and How, with the others feeding into that mold. Philosophers and spiritual leaders look more for Why and Who might be …
We all face volcanoes in life, whether we realize it or not. The recent eruption of White Island/Whakaari in New Zealand has had me pondering this thought. Maybe it’s because I was there for Mt. St. Helens in 1980. For anyone who was in the Pacific Northwest, they can tell you exactly what they were …
Even you can survive the holidays if you manage your expectations and exercise a little creativity, whether you have a crazy family, a mental illness, or are just “normally” stressed. Our lives are not Hallmark movies and we don’t have perfect families. My neighbors, for example, lost their matriarch last May, making this Thanksgiving awkward …
Change is inevitable. We all know that. So why do we fight it so much? From the moment we emerge from the warm, quiet security of the womb, we are bombarded with differences, and we cry. Lights, noises, and new sensations all announce that our world has changed, and it never stops. Not until we …
We all have our own ways of coping with stress. If you’re like me, you probably have a mix of good, bad and neutral methods. I used to think I handled things pretty well over all. Then I got married and was quickly disabused of that idea. The last several months have found me employing …