Conquer Your Mountains
I want to tell you about my most valuable possession – my Red Book. Actually, it’s an accounting ledger book circa 1979. Tall and thin, the 12” ledger never seemed to fit well in a bookshelf. The corners are a little bent and scuffed. The binding is loose. The edges of the cover are beginning…
My road to coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been a difficult one. I didn’t even know that I needed any help or that I really had a problem until someone else gently helped me to realize it. I was 23 before I ever stepped foot into a therapist’s office. Bob and I were…
I’m beginning a series of posts about my own understanding of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I’m not a psychologist, and have no training in understanding the human mind. But I do know about my personal experience with PTSD, as well as the experiences of a small handful of friends and acquaintances who have also…
We are made of star stuff. This is the assertion of celebrated astronomer and astrophysicist, Carl Sagan, and a stirring notion worthy of consideration. The impetus for this now coined phrase lies in the fascinating discoveries science has made about the nature of the cosmos and the nature of life. We are made of the…
Forgiveness isn’t something we do for others. We do it so we can get well and move on. Last Sunday was the Forgiveness Sunday in Russia. It is an orthodox holiday, when everybody asks one another for forgiveness. When I woke up on Sunday I was determined to have forgiven (well, at least to do…
Author Marlo Morgan’s “Mutant Message” novel series is based on accounts of time spent with the Aboriginal Australian people. Theirs is a culture strongly based on harmony, not only with nature (these people can survive in some of the world’s harshest climates while never storing or gathering food for longer than a few days), but…
Haven’t you always wanted to find a door that leads into Narnia? After watching a cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe at the age of six, I was constantly on the lookout for any possible portals into the world of Narnia. Being an expert at finding where my Mom hid our relatively…
About a month ago, my wife and I visited two of my best friends, Ronnie and Noell. In late December, they had just welcomed their first child into their family: Jayden—a boy who was unmistakably designed to be in baby commercials. As I cradled the child in my arms, a question suddenly sprang to mind….
Recently I listened to a Kenny Chesney song, Don’t Blink. The words of the song reminded me of a lesson that I’ve been taught many times and in many different ways. The man in the song turned 102 that day, and was asked by a reporter what the secret to life was. Don’t blink, he responded, and throughout the…