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!).
Saturday is date night for my wife Kim and I. Kim is not her real name. I seldom use real names in my column in order to protect the innocent, the guilty, or the clueless. To be honest, we should call it date day instead of date night since we are usually home by five. […]
Lunch and a Flu Shot Read More »
The Gazette recently published an editorial declaring that marijuana is “officially” a problem in Colorado. They followed that with a series called “Clearing the Haze.” The irony of the name is exceeded only by the equally offensive “Patriot Act.” It’s hard to know where to start in assessing the problems with the Gazette’s declaration of
The Gazette’s Betrayal of Conservatives Read More »
It was a warm Arizona spring day and we were untangling ourselves from the dog pile of eighth grade boys. We heard a yell from the bottom of the clump of bodies. It was Larry. “My leg,” he said through tears that made muddy streaks on his dusty face. We gathered around. Larry was a
Recess as Education Read More »
Gary, the psychologist, waited for me to get settled in my chair. I had been dreading this session all week. In our first session, my mother and father told Gary about the first fifteen years of my life. How they had provided for me, sacrificed to give me a Catholic education, and fulfilled all my
We Do Cray Cray Real Good Read More »
I cannot call what happened at UCC in Roseburg, Oregon a tragedy. Gun violence in general and mass shootings in particular have become too common place in America to call them tragedies. They are the natural consequences of allowing easy and unrestricted access to guns and ammunition. (Full disclosure: I own guns and a concealed
Ben Carson Under Fire Read More »
I sat on my back deck yesterday enjoying the incredible autumn weather that frames the beauty of Colorado and looking at the small patch of San Isabel Forest that abuts my property. As the cat rubbed against my leg marking me as his, I watched the leaves and pine needles fall like raindrops. Another layer
The Dying of the Leaves Read More »