A Journey Through Stuff
That one word—stuff—has shown up in my conversations with a wide variety of folks more in the last few months than it has in many years! For the most part it held a negative and burdensome connotation, not something we wanted more of, but something we wanted to be free from. As you might know […]
Life’s Crap
None of us gets through life without encountering our share of hardship, adversity, pain, frustration, loss, and a whole bunch of other crap that we’d prefer to avoid. In fact, sometimes it can feel like life is nothing but crap! Before we go any further, this is probably a good spot to put something on […]
Little Bigs – Part 2
This is the second in a two-part post on what I call, “little bigs,” small things we can do to possibly help create some degree of understanding and healing in what I see as an increasingly divisive, antagonistic, and fear-driven climate. Your feedback on the first post about taking time to thank folks for a […]
Little Bigs – Part 1
As I have mentioned in prior posts, this is the most divisive, antagonistic and fear-driven climate I have experienced in my lifetime, and as a result, I have become increasingly more committed to identifying common opportunities for connecting and healing. I call these “little bigs” because they take little effort but can have outsized results […]
Still Chewing
Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of sitting with several people who have been given a terminal illness diagnosis as they grapple with how to deal with this shocking and overwhelming news. On occasion they may ask for my thoughts or professional advice, but for the most part, they are hoping […]
Our Shrinking World
“As you age, your world gets smaller and smaller.” This dire pronouncement from our neighbor, our boy’s self-designated adoptive grandmother, haunted me from the moment I heard it. Over the years Rita and I reflected on it often, even more frequently as we entered our own post-retirement phase. Already we had experienced the loss of […]
My Pre-New Year Resolution
It’s the beginning of the new year, the usual time for New Year’s resolutions. Several friends and acquaintances have already mentioned resolutions like beginning an exercise program or committing to a healthier diet, both of which I wholeheartedly support and are areas I continue to work on myself! Just within the past few days (it’s […]
Avoiding Decisions Part 3: Making the Decision
This is a continuation of the last post on confronting a major decision I’ve been avoiding for years: where and how Rita and I want to live out this next stage of our lives. This decision is extremely challenging and complex, and as I’ve come to understand the more I talk to others about it, […]
Avoiding Decisions Part 2: Unpacking Your Baggage
This post is in response to a challenge put forth by one of my regular “bouncers” (the people I “bounce” my rough drafts off for their honest, critical and constructive feedback) after reading the draft of my last post on avoiding decisions. He asked me why I hadn’t written about the ongoing decision-making struggle I’ve […]