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!).
My head was hurting. A lot. Not quite to the point of wanting to throw up, but close. Not a migraine which I do not get. It was a sinus headache, which I do get thanks to some unpleasant encounters with a baseball during my childhood. I have Tylenol for such occasions, but it was […]
All twenty-four sets of eyes watched me closely as I lit the match. I lit the paper on fire, placed it in the bottle, and put a hard boiled egg on the opening. As the paper burned and smoked, the egg, slowly at first then more quickly, squeezed itself into the bottle as if some
The Science of Peeling a Hard Boiled Egg Read More »
“Jerome Bernard Parent, what are you doing?” my mother asked. Uh oh. Full name. I’m in trouble. “I’m just reading,” I said, showing her the book. “That’s rude for a guest to be doing. Now go outside with the other kids and play.” “All right,” I said. “In a minute.” I peeked down the stairs.
The Dark Side of the Pooh Read More »
I came out of the Sears optometrist’s room and saw my mother clearly for the first time in memory. “You have freckles,” I said. My vision had certainly changed. Later, I would find out that these words hurt her feelings. My mother, red-headed and of German ancestry, had a lot of freckles. Like me, she
Vision Issues: A Cock-Eyed World View Read More »
Okay, maybe saving the internet is a bit hyperbolic, but better math instruction could reduce some of the arguing that occurs. Internet trolls and pranksters are an internet hazard that most of us would like to see less of. Trolls are a separate issue. but there are certain pranksters that like to take advantage of
How Math Teachers Can Save the Internet from the PEMDAS Debate Read More »
The phrase 52 Blue sounds like a card game or the name of a jazz tune by Miles Davis. In fact, the story of 52 Blue is a sad, fascinating phenomenon from the natural world. The popular press resurrects the story every couple of years because of its emotional appeal. For those unfamiliar with 52
52 Blue: A Whale Song Read More »