25% Brighter

Posted on:Jan 14 2022

We all know the feeling — a friend tells us a joke and we laugh together, really let go and laugh, and enjoy a moment of pure, unadulterated happiness. ...

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Wellness
Unshakable Equanimity

Posted on:Dec 31 2021

I’ve been thinking more about this quality, or state of being, since my dad passed away last year.  One of the ways I keep him close is...

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Wellness Traits
Hitting Restart

Posted on:Dec 12 2021

During a recent mental-inventory-of-my-life exercise, driven in part by cold, dark December and a blah feeling of what I guess I’d call ‘loss,’ it didn&rsquo...

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Wellness
Languishing

Posted on:Jun 07 2021

Not long ago, a friend was over and we were chatting outside on the front porch swing.  I was trying to describe this weird feeling I’d been...

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Adventures of the Vaccinated

Posted on:May 07 2021

Headline news :  RECENTLY I MET ONE OF MY BESTIES FOR COFFEE AT A COFFEE SHOP!   I realize a person might think it’s a little ridiculous to...

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Just For Fun
You Do Not Have To Be Your Mood

Posted on:Apr 23 2021

What kind of mood are you in right now?   What emotions are part of the mood? How did you get into this mood anyway?   Stating the obvious, we...

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Wellness
Rethinking Happiness

Posted on:Apr 10 2021

How are you thinking about happiness these days? Does the whole idea sound, I don’t know, tired, unattainable, the absolute least of your worries after the slog...

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Wellness
Hungry for Healthy

Posted on:Mar 27 2021

Perhaps you’ve heard by now - people who eat the Mediterranean way are often healthier, sharper, and happier.     To be sure, there are a lot of...

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Wellness
Mind Mechanics

Posted on:Mar 11 2021

Chatter by Ethan Kross   Introduction Chapter One : Why We Talk to Ourselves Chapter Two : When Talking to Ourselves Backfires Chapter Three : Zooming Out Chapter Four : When I Become You ...

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Wellness Reviews
V-A-R-I-E-T-Y

Posted on:Feb 25 2021

My my my, do I ever miss the people I only sort of know!   I was catching up with my dear college friend, AK, recently and talking about all...

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Commentary
Loneliness

Posted on:Feb 15 2021

I recently finished a great book, Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism, and Kindness Can Help You Live To 100, by Marta Zaraska.  All part of my "research" - for...

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Wellness Reviews
Mental Fitness Rx

Posted on:Feb 07 2021

It’s true, I’ve been writing a lot about mental health lately - it seems to be a front-of-mind topic for everyone...we all seem a little...

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Wellness
Get Your Second (or fourth) Wind

Posted on:Jan 29 2021

Looking for your fourth-and-counting wind as this pandemic wears on and on and on?   If a deep sense of weariness has set in - caused by winter and darkness,...

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Wellness
Monkey Mind Be Tamed

Posted on:Jan 18 2021

Have you heard about this thing called the monkey mind? Chances are good you have one.    And if you know a little, or even a lot, about...

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Wellness
Resolve Your Veggies!

Posted on:Jan 08 2021

Welcome to 2021! How about a very short mad lib? ________! I’m so __________________!!   Have to say, flipping the calendar to January 2021 was like a let's-all-drag-each-other-across-the-finish-line moment.  We...

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Wellness
A Poem…

Posted on:Dec 31 2020

“In The Time of Pandemic”  by  Kitty O’Meara   And the people stayed home And they read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, ...

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Reflection
Mojo Matters

Posted on:Dec 22 2020

Where the heck is my mojo? Has yours gone missing too? Maybe there’s a secret mojo party going on and we’re not invited until this pandemic...

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Wellness Just For Fun
Of Ears and Eyes

Posted on:Dec 14 2020

So how’s communicating while wearing a mask going these days? Have you figured out your “What Works?” Mine’s a WIP for sure.   In...

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Wellness
Age Advantage

Posted on:Dec 04 2020

As it turns out, this pandemic has given me new appreciation for my age.    I’m in a position to mostly retreat from the world...

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Commentary
Booty Boost !!

Posted on:Nov 23 2020

Okay, so, before you get the wrong idea about the title, let me explain -  it is not a call for casual sex (I promise, Mom), it is not...

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Wellness Just For Fun
Hope as our PPE

Posted on:Nov 15 2020

If ever there was a time we needed Hope, it’s now. When so many things feel hopeless.   In an article I read not long ago, the author...

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Wellness Traits
Reclaim Letter Writing

Posted on:Nov 06 2020

Craving connection? Join the club. Tired of screens? Me too. Want to transform some angst into action? Yes, please!   What a perfect time for handwritten letters, notes, and cards...

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Wellness Just For Fun
Good Things Take Time

Posted on:Oct 28 2020

It's worth repeating -  Good  things  take  time.    When you think about it, apart from winning the lottery, a last-second hail Mary, or...

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Traits
Kiss Fewer Frogs ?

Posted on:Oct 18 2020

Over 7 months into this pandemic, we’re all feeling how just about every aspect of ordinary life is being challenged on a daily basis, even hourly.  It...

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Commentary
Good or Easy?

Posted on:Oct 10 2020

One of the things my life has taught me over the years is that a good life doesn’t necessarily mean an easy one.   Philosophers have offered up...

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Wellness
Watch This Documentary!

Posted on:Oct 01 2020

“The Social Dilemma” is a documentary now streaming on Netflix.  Please watch it, soon, maybe more than once, and spread. the. word. I wouldn’t necessarily...

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Commentary
Long-haul Durability, aka Resilience

Posted on:Sep 21 2020

When I look back, it’s interesting to note how movement has literally saved me during the toughest stretches of my life.  Even though it’s a...

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Traits
September, Truly

Posted on:Sep 11 2020

I see the calendar every day, it’s been saying September for a little over a week now.          Maybe, like me and so many...

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Wellness
Forgiveness : Pruning Shears

Posted on:Sep 04 2020

So I asked a friend of mine what topic should follow my blog on Kindness and he said Forgiveness. And I said, whoa, okay.  Talk about a pot-stirrer !   ...

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Traits
Jonesin’ for Kindness

Posted on:Aug 28 2020

Here’s some good news - no matter how fraught your daily life has been, is right now, and likely will be for the, what, next 10 months, we all...

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Traits
The Social Visit - Bring It Back

Posted on:Aug 21 2020

On a recent Saturday afternoon, I was reminded in the most delightful way of the sublime, somewhat forgotten, custom of social visiting.  J and S had a beautiful summer...

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Wellness
Buoyancy

Posted on:Aug 14 2020

So how are you doing? Things are wack, aren’t they? The fatiguing pandemic pressure-cooker is real. When will this stop and what will life look like when it...

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Wellness
Why? vs. Why not?

Posted on:Aug 07 2020

So I’ll confess to some still-sticky looping of “Am I doing this ‘right’?  What if I do or say something stupid?  What if...

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Beginner’s Mind
Just Jump !!

Posted on:Aug 01 2020

Helloooooo from the Happiness Blog!   Blogging vs. Posting...   Kind of the same but, whoa, actually definitely different. This switch has been on my mind for quite...

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Beginner’s Mind