This afternoon, I strapped Olivia into her stroller and headed out the door for a nice, long walk. I was going to fetch the dog to come with us, but my darling Hobbes had somehow managed to escape off his non pull dog harness where I had left him to pee and bark at deer 20 minutes earlier. Again. Not to worry he wasn’t lost. He’s … Continue reading My Dog’s an A-hole
I distinctly remember being a child and realizing that no one could read my thoughts. It was a very freeing thing for me to know that I couldn’t get in trouble and no human would ever be able to judge me for what I thought in the privacy of my own head. This was the beginning of my love affair with thinking. In your head, … Continue reading Your Brain is a Great Place to be Wrong
Research is discovering that we decide what to think and then look for reasons to believe that what we already think is true. In other words, we don’t make decisions or have opinions because of facts, reason or logic. We use facts, reasons and logic to support what we’ve already decided. So if it’s not reason that we are using to make our decisions and … Continue reading People who have feelings . . .
There’s an old story about a poor farmer’s son who goes to see a raja and his procession going through town. As the raja passes by, he drops a ring which the boy retrieves and returns to the raja. As a reward, the boy is given one of the raja’s fine horses. Everyone tells the boy how wonderful this is; now his father will have … Continue reading Suspend Judgement
Much to my family of origin’s dismay, sometimes my life is weird. And interesting. For example, earlier this year I had a chance to learn massage therapy from a crazy, old, hippy, Christian massage and hypnotherapist. He was a bit of a charlatan and con-artist, but a pretty sincere one. If you asked him, he would tell you the color of your aura, how many … Continue reading Much-Ado-About-Feelings
People working in impoverished areas around the world know that giving something to just one or a few individuals in a community creates intense conflict and resentment with those who did not receive anything. It doesn’t matter if those who received worked to earn it or if what was given is of little value. There seems to be something very deep in us that causes … Continue reading You Live Like Royalty!
Here’s a fact of life that many people have a hard time accepting: unless you were being physically manipulated or had a gun put to your head, you have never been forced to do anything. Not homework. Not driving on the right side of the road. Not take a job you hate or anything else. You may have felt like you were being forced to … Continue reading Own Your Choices
You know your happy place? That mountain or beach or spa or whatever that makes you feel that all is right with the world. I can’t seem to find my happy place. Maybe its because I’ve never been some where exciting or maybe my imagination just isn’t that good. What I can do is make “Feel-Good Memories“. When I feel really good – I try … Continue reading Making Feel Good Memories
I have some argumentative children. Quarrelsome, you could say. Sometimes they will do something mind bogglingly absurd and then try to defend themselves by saying, “you never told me I couldn’t [paint the dog with gravy]/[microwave a stuffed animal]/[tell relatives how much I enjoy setting things on fire and seeing how long it takes for them to call you to express concern]/etc.” To which my … Continue reading “No Crapping in the Middle of the Living room!”
I have a 20 month old baby girl named Olivia. And she cracks me up. When I tell her “no” she says, “oohhh.” She does it just like someone going, “aw man!” She has this laugh that sounds like whatever she’s laughing at is the funniest thing ever. She also has an unusual command of her body. She’s been walking since 8 1/2 months and … Continue reading What Olivia is Teaching Me
The Upside Down World 