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To many people, this post will not make any sense. It has been several years now since my aunt died. She never went to college. She was heavy. She had human problems. But, dispatch for the local fire department, the whole community came together when she died. Every strong and…
As a poet and reader, I love words. As a child “dyslexicly” trying to make sense of inky scribblings and smudges on paper, I fell in love with the majesty of language. I was amazed at the way words can create whole new worlds and change the contours of how…
af·fec·tive (adj): relating to, arising from, or influencing feelings or emotions pros·per·i·ty (noun): a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition Affective Prosperity is the principal that all of our authentic emotions and feelings add a texture and richness to life, and can be a creative force to be drawn upon to…
No one is sure of the exact origin of the Rain Stick. Ancient versions of the percussion instrument have been found in Africa, pre-Mayan Peru and with the Aztecs in Mexico. They have been discovered among the artifacts of the Diaguita people of northern Chile and Argentina, as well as…
The New York Times Magazine recently published a story about a fisherman who fell off his lobster boat in the middle of the night, forty miles from Long Island. No one knew where John Aldridge had fallen off or when. It was hours before anyone discovered he was missing and…
(portions of this article first appeared on positive psychology news daily: http://positivepsychologynews.com/news/sean-doyle/2013032525681) In my first post on this topic, I concluded that in the face of hardship, injustice or deep trauma, the only answer was love and holding even tighter to kindness. This seems naive, trite. However whether in the…
Sometimes things in life happen that shatter your world. I am not talking about those expected traumas, as raw and difficult as they may be: The death of a loved one or the way time starts our decay while we are still conscious and breathing. Even if we have banished…
** This post first appeared on Positive Psychology News Daily. Forgiveness. Mercy. Prudence. Modesty. The strengths of temperance don’t get as much attention as our more muscular qualities. Yet in a certain sense, maybe this cluster of strengths enables every other strength, and thus makes the good life possible. Excitement…
A few years ago I had the privilege to attend a friend’s wedding in India. I was the first of our group to arrive and the bride invited me to a ceremony at her home that was usually only attended by family. All the uncles were there. A Hindu priestess…