While the world continues to march forward, I invite you to take a moment for quiet at the end of this year. Make the time you spend with family really count, even if it’s thru a plexiglass panel or a video camera lens. Have conversation. Listen. Hug often, laugh a lot, and look for the … Read more
As the American Thanksgiving holiday approaches, our thoughts turn to Giving Thanks and the emotion of Gratitude. This emotion is so foundational to the experience of all the Positive Emotions that I believe it is impossible to oversell its importance or speak of it too often. Gratitude is defined as, the quality of being warmly or deeply appreciative … Read more
Ten Gratitude Activities Here are practices used by me and others (or me) that I know work to strengthen your gratitude muscles, which are a pre-requisite to Happiness. Some are simple, some complex; some are high-tech, low-tech, visual, verbal, or physical. There is no ‘perfect’ practice, so create one that works for you. For more … Read more
During my search for past writings on Optimism, I came across this article from 2012, LONG before pandemics and 2020’s turmoil – and I was struck by how much of the wisdom from a “normal” year still applies, but feels different, in a pandemic year. With minor tweaks, I share this from the archives. My … Read more
What did you learn this year? In a normal year it is a common practice to look back to reflect on accomplishments before looking forward to plan for the next. Janus, the ancient Roman god of beginnings and endings, represents this duality. As this Dumpster Fire of a year blessedly draws to an end, I’m … Read more
I began this blog 18 years ago, in November 2002, before social media was even a thing. I started the dance with 100 subscribers and over the first two years I slowly unpacked The 13 Principles of Happiness that were central to my work at that time. While my focus has expanded and shifted and gone … Read more
COVID Brain Part 3: Awesomeness One of my favorite writers has been posting daily bits of Pandemic Awesomeness. Inspired, I’ve been working on my own list. Discovering that I DO have the motivation to exercise even though the gyms are closed Having fresh baked bread twice a week for the past 20 weeks – because … Read more
Part 1: From The Pandemic Lockdown, Day 159 How long have you been in lockdown, or working from home, or having to balance kids and job and worry about the return to school, or feeling separated from loved ones? Too long, right? I thought I was doing OK. Then two weeks ago (day 143, but … Read more
The experience of COVID19 Lockdown is as varied as the people who’ve had to live through it – which means there are several billion stories. Yet we are forming a global memory of a universal challenge. One dimension of that shared experience is, in my observation, a deeper appreciation for the broad range of human … Read more
It’s been a wet winter here, so our yard is a reeking mud marsh dotted with swampy pools deep enough that we’ve attracted nomadic geese. We are in COVID-19 lockdown (Day 7). Our internet is spotty and overloaded, and my nine-year-old iMac chose today to fully embrace dementia. Our sump pump is blocked. A skunk … Read more