• Christmas,  Christmas commercials,  Holiday traditions

    Does our stuff make us happy?

    “Very little is needed to make a happy life.” ~Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius was a Roman ruler and stoic philosopher who didn’t believe that owning lots of bright and shiny things led to satisfaction or contentment. Easy for him to say, right? While his ancient wisdom looks good in print, it’s not as easy to practice when you’re wandering the aisles of any department store during the winter holidays. Christmas in our country is tightly tied to buying stuff. Lots of stuff. After all, national economic success depends heavily on our holiday spending. Watch any Christmas commercial on TV, and you’ll see troops of gleeful actors opening stacks of wrapped…

  • Aging well,  Health & wellbeing,  Personal growth

    Reasons to love winter

    “What’s the secret to beating back the metaphorical darkness? Accept the inevitable, tend to your physical and mental health, and stack the deck with feel-good activities. Focusing on all that makes you feel great will make the time fly by – and let you win at winter.” ~Frank Lipman, MD There’s a light dusting of snow outside my window this morning. While I hate driving on snowy roads, I try to adapt when Mother Nature gives us the cold shoulder. There’s science to prove that spending time in cold weather slows the aging process and benefits our health in several ways. Being outdoors in cold temperatures “is showing promise as…

  • Christmas,  Health & wellbeing,  Holidays

    Help for the holidays and a little bah-humbug

    “One of the most important ways to reduce stress is to ask for help. This works not only during the holidays, but also all year ’round.” – Dr. Daisy Sutherland Last week on NPR, there was a fascinating segment on the topic of why so many people secretly dread the Christmas season — even though it’s supposed to be a celebratory season of nonstop merriment. Rates of depression typically rise between Thanksgiving and December 31st, with many folks reporting feelings of sadness. For others, the holidays simply add another layer of stress. Some of us have trouble saying “no” when it comes to stuffing every moment in December with perpetual activity…

  • Aging well,  Personal growth,  Rumi

    Winter lessons

    “Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop.” ~Rumi Here in southeast Michigan, it seemed as if our unseasonably warm autumn would last forever. But winter’s chill arrived suddenly, and the leaves are finally down from the trees. The branches outside my office window now form artful silhouettes against December’s pale skies, open and receptive to the next snowfall. Today’s quote from Rumi is a reminder that it’s time for me to shed some things too. One of the beautiful aspects of maturing is that we start to release things that no longer work for us. We can drop our pretenses and surrender the habit of trying to…

  • Animals,  Coco,  Home & Family

    Sedatives, surprises and lots of support

    “Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.” ~ Misty Copeland Nursing a dog who is seriously injured can be confining, but the next few weeks are especially critical for Coco’s recovery. I’ll do whatever it takes to help her — even though it means altering my own plans to accomplish that. As we begin Week Two of Coco’s eight-week healing process, I remind myself that major recoveries can’t be hurried. One small step at a time. Our house looks like an infirmary and will stay that way through the holidays. The Christmas decorations are still packed in the attic, where they’ll remain until next…