“It’s not the pretending, but the pretending that we are not pretending that hurts us.” — Sheldon Kopp, psychoanalyst and author Most of us at least intellectually understand that real love is different from exploitive caring. Caring for someone because of what they do for us is not the same as caring for someone because …
So many of us are afraid that this national election will not turn out right and that we will be stuck electing a leader who both promotes hate and decries democracy. With good reason, we endlessly obsess about national polls and the latest news regarding the election. We lose a lot of sleep over this …
It might seem like the easiest thing in the world to accept hugs, kindness and caring from another person but in fact many of us have the hardest time doing that and we may shun people who are loving to us. Most of us actually need warmth and compassion from others especially when it is …
“If you knew the secret life of your enemies it would be enough to disarm all your hostilities.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow We humans are something else. We’re either putting other people on pedestals or else relishing their demise. We’re the ultimate social creatures. We love to imitate each other or else thrive on beating the …
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” —From Abraham Lincoln’s first Inaugural address March 4, 1861 …
Many people have experienced falling in love, committing to another person, and then later discovering that the relationship just isn’t working. Long-term relationships require time, energy and work. Some people don’t do the work it takes. Others are so vastly different that their lives are spent trying to convince the other person they are wrong. …
All my friends know I just have this thing for women. They’ll say, “Who are you with this week, Jerry?” or “Man if I only had your problem.” Most of them think it’s cute that I keep meeting one woman after another. I have a good job and stay in shape. I’m always real nice …
I was reflecting on community the other day and thinking back on all the people who have flowed through my life since I joined the community of recovery. There are those that have only come in and out with a face at some meeting or a chance greeting during and after in the halls. There …
Many years ago on February 13, a first year representative to the New York state assembly received an urgent telegram at his Albany, N.Y., office containing a single three-word sentence: Come home now! The day before, his wife had given birth to a baby girl. Now, as the train made the five-hour trip back to …
Most of us are aware of those sublime experiences of life we call love. We may feel uplifted in being more than we already are through the continued tenderness of a loved one. It’s as good as it gets. We may also have magnificent moments when we have transported a dear one to be a …
