For many people, “Dry January” seems like a distant memory. Oh, their intentions were good. After a long holiday season with too many parties and happy hours and just generally over-imbibing, cutting out alcohol for a month sounded like a pretty good New Year...
Why Boundaries Are Necessary And Valuable
Any parent probably has great stories about teaching their kids to share. It’s not something that toddlers typically do naturally. As those kids turn into adolescents they’re taught a more sophisticated twist on sharing: You will receive as much as you give. From...
It’s Time To De-Stress — For Your Mental Health And More
The old Chinese curse — May you live in interesting times — seems more appropriate than ever these days. Whether you’re worried about anything from the economy to global diplomatic tensions, there’s a whole lot in the news to validate that feeling that has you waking...
Tears And Fears Vs. A Productive Workplace
Family dynamics are a sight to behold. Any parent with two or more kids can probably go on for hours about interactions between the siblings — amusing, horrifying, endearing, frightening stories that form the stuff of family legend. The time kids spend with each other...
Do’s And Don’ts To Master The Art of Conversation
Almost from the day we’re born we begin to learn how to speak. It’s an incredibly simple process and people in every culture follow the same basic pattern. As babies and then children, we listen, imitate and remarkably quickly begin to associate sounds with meaning....
It’s Not ‘What’ You Said…
Here’s a little pop quiz for you. Who was your favorite elementary school teacher? Here’s a followup question. What was it about Mr. Smith or Ms. Jones that made you like them so much? You may remember a single incident that’s happily embedded in your memory — the...
An Orchestra In Harmony With All
The times they are a-changin’… and thank goodness for that. Not too very long ago, many groups of people lived outside the mainstream of society, whether by choice or not. Today, people cheer on paralympic athletes while organizations such as the United States Blind...
Is Juggling Life’s Demands Burning You Out?
Isn’t it nice that with all the advances in technology helping us in our everyday lives, we no longer have to worry about all those things that stressed out previous generations? We no longer have to fret about pressure to perform at work. Striking the proper...
The Essence And Importance Of ‘Character’
Good ol’ Aristotle is credited with saying, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act, but a habit.” In fact, he was playing off a statement of his teacher, Plato, who said, “Character is simply habit long continued.” To truly understand the...
Healthy Relationships — Healthy Body
One of the wonderful side effects of a nice dinner with a loved one or an intimate conversation or time spent together on a beach watching a glorious sunset (the list of delightful examples goes on and on!) is the deep sense of peace that follows. You may notice it as...