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!).
“All you need is love. . . .” The lyrics, wrapped in brass instruments, danced out of the speakers attached to Peter’s tabletop record player. Jim, Peter, and I sat around Peter’s bedroom as we listened to Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles for the first time. We marveled at their musical progression and compared […]
The Erosion of Compassion Read More »
“Are you sure this is it?” Patrick asked me as we pulled into the parking lot. I pointed to the weathered sign that read Florissant Fossil Beds. “Where are the bulldozers?” he said. “I don’t know,” I said. “Let’s go inside and ask.” We were the only car in the parking lot and we were
Standing Rock and the Money Trail Read More »
Like many people, it is a tradition in our family to talk about what we are thankful for at the Thanksgiving meal. This year it will be tough and I’m not even including the election in calculating my difficulties. Since I am on record as predicting a Clinton landslide, some of my friends thought I
“Ballooney, Daddy. I wanna play ballooney,” Michael said. He was three, freshly bathed, and so cute in his blue footie pj’s. Who could resist such a plea even though ballooney games are wild and hardly a calming pre-bedtime activity? I went to the top shelf of his closet and got a fresh balloon. Most people
It is Election Day 2016. I predicted, back in March, that Hillary will win in a landslide. I have seen nothing since then to change my opinion. Whether I think it’s a good idea or not, it is what I think will happen. Trump followers, spurred on by Donald’s intemperate remarks, have been making an
An Open Letter to Joe Walsh and the Alt Right Read More »
“Trick or treat!” David yelled as the door opened. He held out his plastic jack-o-lantern and the lady who answered the door put a small paper bag in it. “Thank you,” he said and turned around. I was a little suspicious that he got a paper bag instead of so-called fun size candy. I became
Halloween and Creationist Trickery Read More »