Chloe
Today marks one year since my daughter died. Just writing that sentence is devastating. I miss her terribly. This last year feels like the shortest year of my life, as well as the longest. I know that is not possible, and time flows on the way it always does, but I remember it like it […]
Scammers
Today one of our employees got scammed, and they used my name to do it. I’m heartbroken for her, and feel so violated personally even though I had no part of it. Apparently the scam of impersonating “the boss” and asking employees to buy gift cards is a thing. I had not heard of it […]
Tolerance
One of the (many) shortcomings that we humans have is always wanting more. Particularly in an absolute capitalistic society, the desire for more is ever-present, and the finish line never arrives, unless we are very intentional about developing tolerance. I think one of the more common examples of tolerance is alcohol. If you only have […]
JOMO
If you have spent any amount of time online, you have probably seen somebody mention FOMO… Fear Of Missing Out. It’s that terrible, nagging instinct that if you don’t check your Twitter or Instagram, you are going to miss something. Something important. Something big. Something that everybody else already knows about…but why don’t you? You […]
Love
It’s amazing how something as basic as the premise of love can cause so much suffering. I use the term ‘basic’ here as in a base feeling, not as something simple. I think about this a lot particular as it relates to my children; all children, really. As I have grown older, something I took […]
Creation
I’ve often said that I would prefer to design and plant a garden than maintain one. For me, the joy is in the creation, in the building, in the discovery and in the newness. I know not everybody is that way, and that is good, for the builder and the tender need each other. This […]
Overexcitability
Are you familiar with the works and theories of Kazimierz Dabrowski? Dąbrowski was a Polish psychologist, psychiatrist, and physician, and is most popularly known for his theory of “positive disintegration”, which includes, among other things, the premise of overexcitability, particularly as it relates to gifted children. Overexcitabilities are inborn intensities indicating a heightened ability to […]
Flavor
It’s somewhat alarming to take a bite of something and not be able to taste it, yet that is exactly what happened to me earlier today. I was trying a new batch of gummies that we made at work, and while they are usually very flavorful, I couldn’t taste a thing…I could only tell that […]
Heart
Last year I discovered the writings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh from The Marginalian, the blog of Maria Popova. The first book of his that I read is called How To Love, and it’s a very easy read. Each page is essentially its own subject, so it’s easy to read for a short time […]
Happiness
I recently read a post by somebody who said that there are two things you need to be happy: purpose and pleasure. I agree, those two are a part of the equation, but I think they missed something very important. While I’m sure we could add many things to a list we think we need to be happy, what I think is critical is having a sense of security.