Let’s face it – life is hard.  We have bills to pay and mouths to feed, places to go and people to see.  Most of us feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to do all the things that are expected of us.  Many of us feel enormous pressure to succeed, to nurture…

“Get your head out of the clouds!”  “You live in a dream world.”  “You need to get your feet back on the ground and start facing reality.”  “Life is hard, Carrie.  You need to learn to deal with that.” These comments, and phrases like these, have haunted me for much of my life.  It seems…

Have you ever started a sentence with the word, “Someday…?” If so, what has come after that word? “Someday, I want to visit Japan.” “Someday, I’ll catch up on all my work and be able to relax.” “Someday, I will write that novel/climb that mountain/run that marathon/get that dream job.” “Someday, I’ll have enough money…

What if we could feel happier and more connected to the world simply by controlling our environment? The new discoveries of quantum physics seem to indicate that experiencing life through qualia (sensations, images, feelings and thoughts) unites our individual selves with the universe as a whole.  At least that’s my twist on one of the…

I’m currently going through a lot of stuff we have piled in our basement to sell at our neighborhood garage sale, sorting and pricing objects.  $1 for hard-cover books, 50 cents for a paperback.  DVDs, one buck each.  Some of the pricing is easy, and some is mind-numbingly stressful. Let’s take my old martini shaker,…

The alarm blared through my phone and I fumbled for the snooze button in the dark.  My head hurt.  The world was blurry.  Hazy thoughts run through my sleepy brain.  ‘Was that the second time the alarm went off, or the third?  Do I still have time to snooze?  Should I make it a ponytail…

Have you ever been outraged by a game? I was definitely scandalized when I heard about a game once.  Or rather, a series of games … the Hunger Games.  As it turned out, I quite liked the Hunger Games trilogy – I thought the lessons of leadership, perseverance, power, politics, loyalty and identity were strong…

If we work really hard and do everything people ask of us, do people owe us something in return?  Can we count on the support of others when we most need it? Many of us operate under an “if/then” assumption with the way we live our lives.  Some of us even call it karma, though…

What are you feeding your brain?  And how is that affecting your health and well-being?  It’s an interesting question that we don’t ask often enough, yet the things we feed our brain can affect us in many real and important ways. A few days ago I was in the middle of a major stuck-fest (feeling…

Four-year-olds can be annoying. I have a four-year-old.  His name is Huckleberry Finn.  Huck is a vivacious and inquisitive little guy who wants to know everything about everything.  He asks a lot of questions.  His favorite question is, “why?” “Why can’t I wear my Superman costume for Christmas Eve mass?” “Why do I have to…

I’m a girl that likes to play things safe.  I like to be a Good Girl, following rules and living up to expectations and making people happy and minding my own business.  I like to be polite.   Generally speaking, I like to fly under the radar and do my own thing. But there have been…

Like many people, I’d like to have a balanced life.  I’d like to round out the stressful seasons of my life with periods of serenity.  I’d prefer if I played as often as I worked.  It would be wonderful if I could find equilibrium in the midst of the forces pulling me in so many…