Not long ago I made a list of the new projects I was starting for 2020. As I reviewed, edited, shared, edited and continued to critique the list it occurred to me that a significant part of it are items of self-improvement. Several of the items are things that cause me some type of discomfort,…
As I type this entry it’s “Black Friday” 2019. One of the best memes I’ve seen recently is the one that points out how so many people rush out on Black Friday to buy stuff they don’t even need on the day after they’re supposed to be thankful for all their blessings. Now, admittedly, some…
A long time ago a friend of mine told me that psychologists are just overpaid bartenders who don’t serve you drinks. While that’s an oversimplification of both professions, if you stop and think about it there’s some truth to the outlook. A great many people with problems talk to their bartender… and the more they…
Let’s discuss briefly the difference between “convenient” and “inconvenient,” and how being treated as either can be interpreted. This topic came up when a friend of mine said that he often felt as if he only received attention from certain people in his life when it was convenient for them. My over-analytical brain chewed on…
This morning I saw a quote that said, “Even bad days have an expiration date of 24 hours.” The editor in me wondered if a time limit was a date and then I realized I was missing the point. The point is that even bad days have a limit to them; they only last a…
Have you ever noticed that some of your friends or family never seem quite as stressed or lacking in control of a given situation as others? Have you ever wondered why? What makes them so special? How come they never seem to sweat when something goes sideways? Here are a few reasons why they might…
In today’s computer age, days where you can’t look around without seeing someone on their “smart” phone, and times of everyone being connected nearly full time, the word “hack” has come to take on a whole new meaning. It is essentially used to mean “something that makes your life easier or an easier and faster…
So, I received a private message on Facebook from a gentleman asking, “What qualifies you to give advice on life to anyone?” I had to think about this. It’s a good question. I found myself wondering if he has a point? What DOES qualify me to give advice on anything to anyone? For that matter,…
Near the end of every calendar year… or in the first few days of a new year… huge numbers of people make resolutions with the goal of improving their life. Some of those resolutions are very specific and equally unrealistic. For example, after someone has been a cigarette smoker for years (if not decades), they…
Recently I saw an image through the wizardry of social media and, after having read through it, thought about just how true it was. The title was “Simple Formula for Living,” but that didn’t really describe the list of items included. As I read them, I felt they more described lessons to be followed for…
As happens all too often in my household, my son asked me a question that forced me to carefully think through my beliefs and values before offering an answer. I have to think carefully because I know, for sure and certain, he’s already trying to form that next question so if I’m not as specific…
If you Google “rules for life” you get 863 MILLION returns (in under 2/3 of a second). There are whole books written on the subject. You can find lists with as few as three rules and as many as 75 rules. Every now and then as I surf the Internet (and life), I come across…
NOTE: This blog isn’t being written, or even approached, with journalistic structure or professionalism in mind. The topic is suicide: awareness and (hopefully) avoidance or reduction. The statistics and data listed are gleaned from various sources and listed at the end. The rest of this is the result of input and comment from family, friends…
I remember being a little kid… maybe six or seven years old, and my parents were “old” to me. Of course, my parents were 35 years older than I, so they were in their early forties; hardly what I would call old these days. Then again, I know a couple people today who are in…
From dictionary.com, the definition of “Warrior:” A person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier. A person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics. I would submit to you that all too often in today’s society the term “warrior” is too narrowly applied to a profession and inadequately…
Every year around this time, as all law enforcement professionals know, suicides and suicide attempts seem to climb in number. The stress of the season, for whatever reason, seems to outweigh the happiness and good cheer that (seemingly) all of us are trying to spread. The challenge is that not ALL of us really are…
Country music star Brad Paisley wrote a song called, “A Letter To Me,” and the basic idea of the song was… if he could write a letter to himself; write it now but somehow send it back to his teenage self, what would he say? In the song he takes the opportunity to give his…
Although we don’t tend to think about it much, our lives are full of traditions. We inherit them from our families without thinking about it. We learn them as young children and then either look forward to them as we get older or dread them; one or the other. How we celebrate holidays is usually…
Just recently on Facebook I saw a meme that was a joke. In essence it said, “Shoot for the stars because even if you only make it to the moon… you’ll still be thousands of miles away from me with your motivational BS.” I had to laugh and share it with my friends. I wondered…
That Dalai Lama – smart guy. His statement, as quoted in this meme, is absolutely correct. It’s also something that far too many people either completely ignore, never learned, or forget any time they need an easy excuse for something wrong in their life. Let’s talk about this a little bit and see just how…