Archive for 2016
“Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.”
December 23, 2016
Tis the season—Happy New Year. Understandably people are preoccupied with happiness— how to be happy, how to stay happy, how to increase the amount of happiness you have in your life. A word that leaps out of any conversation or writing about happiness is gratitude. What place does gratitude play in a person’s happiness quotient? […]
“I like good strong words that mean something.”
November 29, 2016
Louisa May Alcott would be 184 years old today. Little Women is the evergreen book many young girls cut their teeth on. I most identified with Jo, who said, “I like good strong words that mean something.” And who did you most identify with? This might be an example of how one good question can […]
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
November 14, 2016
I would like to think Leonard Cohen is singing ‘Hallelujah’ today in honor of William Steig’s 107th birthday. The world is diminished with the loss of Leonard Cohen. Leon Wieseltier’s memorable words (NYT) captured his essence, which is no small feat. Cohen managed to combine a sense of absurdity with a sense of the significance. […]
Story fires the imagination and stirs the soul
October 30, 2016
Neuroeconomist Paul Zak has found that hearing a story—a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end—causes our brains to release cortisol and oxytocin. These chemicals trigger the uniquely human ability to connect, empathize, and understand. Story is literally in our DNA. People are attracted to stories, we’re social creatures and we relate to other people, […]
The power of a dinner table.
October 23, 2016
I don’t think anyone can help but feel saturated with all the politics coming our way with just a few weeks left before the presidential election. But every once in a while, something catches my eye. Though it touches on the current election, it is about something more important and far reaching. David Brooks, a […]
