One thing I know about happiness is that it comes from the narrative of our life. The story we tell ourselves. But too often, we let others write that story for us. Unhappiness and discontent inevitably follow. The only person who can write the story of your life properly is you. In order to change our narrative to an authentic one, one we write ourselves, we must change our perspective, and thus our perceptions of our world. This is not a new idea. Plato explained it in “Allegory of the Cave” over 2,300 years ago. A small change in perception can mean a huge change in what we see. And changing how we see lets us write a new narrative. The Dalai Lama also explores this idea of the relationship between perception and a good life in his book The Art of Happiness (99¢ in the remainder bin . . . maybe you can buy happiness after all!).
I don’t have a bucket list. Instead, I try to take advantage of every opportunity for unique adventures that life sends my way. Exhibit A was my trip to the top of the Washington Monument. My work with the Space Foundation had taken me to Washington D.C. smack dab in the middle of Operation Desert […]
Total Eclipse: Lights Out Read More »
Some Trumpsters, particularly those in the administration, gushed at how “presidential” the Donald was in delivering his Afghanistan speech. I don’t see it. What I saw was a flip-flop on an issue he doesn’t care about based on the advice of his generals. Furthermore, I don’t understand his secret strategy for winning. Or even what
Vice President Michael Pence recently said that the solution to the Confederate Monuments problem is to build more monuments. Upon reflection, I realize he is absolutely right. Thanks to him and smart people like Steve Bannon and Alex Jones, I am no longer blinded by the historical narrative implanted in my sheeple brain by liberal
Confederate Monuments: More or Less Read More »
Words fail me. As a writer and teacher, that is a unique circumstance. For one of the few times in my life, I neither know what to say nor how to proceed. And yet as an American, as a human being, I must try. Charlottesville. I wonder if this is a turning point. Is this
Donald Trump’s Transgressions Read More »
“Jerome Bernard Parent, I’m gonna shoot you!” my mother yelled from the laundry room. I hesitated and then left my room to face her wrath. Things usually went better if I faced her instead of trying to hide. “What’s the matter, Momma?” I asked. “How many times do I have to tell you to empty
The Tales of Trash Read More »
Donald Trump is an abysmal failure when it comes to international politics. If you disagree with that statement, I offer China and Saudi Arabia as evidence. It was obvious to many when he was on the campaign trail that the Donald was a fraud when it came to his grandiose proclamations about his negotiating skills.
Deals, the Donald, and the DPRK Read More »