Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Musuem
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Herd mentality
“Sheep only need a single flock, but people need two: One to belong to and make them feel comfortable, and another to blame all of society’s problems on.” ~James Rozoff When I was a kid, my parents often discussed politics and watched talk shows featuring guests with opposing viewpoints. The following day, we’d enjoy rehashing the issues around the dinner table. I learned a lot about what I valued during those discussions. My parents encouraged me to develop my own political opinions — even when my opinions didn’t mirror or echo theirs. More than anything, they wanted me to think for myself, and I’m grateful for that. Today’s quote got…
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Living in the past?
“Nostalgia is also a dangerous form of comparison. Think about how often we compare our lives to a memory that nostalgia has so completely edited that it never really existed.” ~Brene Brown Some people believe nostalgia is a casualty of aging — but I’m not so sure that’s true. I’ve been nostalgic (and overly sentimental) since I was a kid. I’m the sort of person who loves old houses and anything with a history. I find comfort in rereading passages from novels with nostalgic themes (Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine comes to mind) and sometimes I view the past through proverbial rose-colored lenses. Which might be why today’s quote hit home…
- Friendship and relationship advice, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Musuem, Health & wellbeing, Spirituality
It’s all so complicated …
“Life is actually quite simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~Confucius Human beings have a knack for crafting lives of infinite complexity. For starters, we shame ourselves if we’re not always “busy” or available on demand. We overburden our schedules with more commitments than we can easily manage, and consequently create more drama, more problems, than we can aptly resolve. Then we spend hours responding to hundreds of virtual strangers on social media platforms — and wonder why we don’t have a spare moment to gather with real friends for coffee. This year, why not aim for pure-and-simple choices in every aspect of life, from household chores to…
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Boundaries
“We live in a time when people have unprecedented access to us. Bosses and coworkers expect you to read emails and DMs late at night, friends and family go into long rants over the phone or texts and expect instant feedback. Sometimes we have to say, ‘I don’t have the capacity to hold you right now because I’m trying to hold myself.'” ~Melanie Santos Stone walls, fences, and guard rails are essential boundaries: They protect our property or keep us from falling over the edge. At the same time, psychological boundaries helps us guard our time and privacy. As today’s quote reminds us, once the Internet took possession of our…
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Get out and vote!
“Every election is determined by the people who show up.” ~Larry Sabato, political scientist Today is an especially critical Election Day — yet I’m not seeing as many lawn signs in my neighborhood this time around. And no wonder. For past the few years, there’s been a palpable sense of anxiety hovering like a thundercloud cloud over any conversation that threatens to turn political, even among old friends and neighbors. These are stormy times, and ours is a volatile, divided nation. Political attack ads on TV are uglier than the back end of a baboon, and for that reason alone, I’ll be relieved when this midterm election is over. These…
