You might be one more try away from your dreams — About one year ago I almost gave up my blog and online writing. Part of me was burned out after years of posting articles, cartoons, and photographs. I felt like I was on a never-ending content treadmill, and began to question the point of it all. I was sick of…

How to protect the fluid area of your consent — I stopped watching cable news two years ago. It was the beginning of many steps taken to quiet the relentless noise and negativity that assaults our daily lives. I have my wife to thank. She was the first to point out the urgent nature of cable news, with its dramatic…

How unconventional friendships can improve your life — What happens when an aging widow and a street puppeteer meet in Washington Square Park, New York City? Sometimes the elderly are wary of scruffy-looking, younger men. And sometimes younger men are dismissive of elderly people. But that’s not what happened between Doris Diether and Ricky Syers. Doris was immediately…

Two creative habits that can improve your life — “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” I love the above quote because it rings true. From boyhood through my fifth decade, the creative arts have been a loyal companion, sustaining my spirit through good times and bad. The quote is often attributed to Pablo Picasso…

Why true love is found long after the honeymoon — What if Francesca left her family and ran off with Robert Kincaid? I asked myself that question years ago after watching “The Bridges of Madison County,” a film set in the mid-1960s about a middle-aged Italian war bride and farm wife, Francesca, who falls in love with a worldly National…

Where your attention goes, your time goes — The couch, television, and iPad are persistent collaborators. Each provides comfort, relaxation, and distraction from the challenges and responsibilities of life. But they also prevent us from achieving our dreams. They know that once lured in, we’re likely to stay. There are days when I take a writing break to…

The simple choice that can improve your life — Years ago, before the Internet and ubiquitous use of smartphones, people used to lug around camcorders to videotape birthday parties, weddings, and other memorable events. I remember seeing them everywhere. Little league games and AYSO soccer matches were lined with proud parents juggling camcorders, trying to videotape all the action…

What would society look like if we did more of this? — In the mid-1970s a homeless Italian immigrant named Ted Strollo stepped off a curb in downtown Los Gatos, California. It nearly cost him his life. Across the street, my father watched as a distracted driver ran the red light and collided with Strollo, launching him nearly twenty feet down the…

How to find the significance of living — It’s funny the things that stay with you in life. The hallway outside my parent’s bedroom contained a framed essay titled, “Keep Alive the Dream in the Heart,” by the late author and theologian Howard Thurman. …