Wellness Wednesday – November 30, 2022: LOOKING FOR BEAUTY & GRACE
If you pay attention to the news, you will certainly notice that hatred and ugliness exist. These are made available to us because people who work for news channels look for it. They spend their days looking for them. When found, they capture hatred and ugliness and...
Wellness Wednesday – November 23, 2022: GROUND RULES – Part 2
Last week’s Wellness Wednesday introduced the importance of Ground Rules: guidelines that participants agree to follow in order to make human interaction more productive and enjoyable. Having Ground Rules establishes expectations that result in effective human...
Wellness Wednesday – November 16, 2022: GROUND RULES
In baseball, ground rules are special rules particular to each baseball park in which the game is played. For example, when a fair ball lodges in the ivy covered outfield wall at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, the fielder throws up his hands and the batter...
Wellness Wednesday – November 9, 2022: ANSWERING THE BELL
Matt Haughey, my son-in-law, recently gave the eulogy at the funeral father, Jim Haughey. Matt described his father as a man who answered the bell. The phrase comes from the sport of boxing and refers to boxers coming out of their respective corners to "answer the...
Wellness Wednesday – November 2, 2022: PIONEERS – NEVER ALONE
Pioneers were willing to embark on difficult and dangerous journeys, but they weren’t foolish. They never went alone. Their independent spirit didn’t blind them from their dependency on others. They understood the basic human need and principle: we are stronger,...
Wellness Wednesday – October 26, 2022: PIONEERS – LEAN INTO FEAR AND DISCOMFORT
We’ve identified the pioneering spirit as (1) refusing to be governed by the damaging phrase, “It’s always been done this way,” and (2) willingness to leave stinking thinking behind. A third characterization of the pioneering spirit is a willingness to lean into fear...
Wellness Wednesday – October 19, 2022: PIONEERS – WILLING TO LEAVE
Last week we focused on the pioneering spirit that refuses to be governed by the damaging phrase, “It’s always been done this way.” Probably the most obvious aspect of pioneers is their willingness to leave one place and head towards another. The early pioneers were...
Wellness Wednesday – October 12, 2022: PIONEERS
As I consider the condition of our country and American education, it is becoming more and more obvious that we need some pioneers. A pioneer is someone who sees potential, an innovator who is willing to try new things. Pioneers see possibilities and are willing to...
Wellness Wednesday – October 5, 2022: NATURE NURTURES
What difference does where we live make regarding our mental health? Psychologists have long contended that people living in urban areas have higher levels of anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and schizophrenia than rural dwellers. I live in a large city…St. Paul....
Wellness Wednesday – September 28, 2022: EEYORE OR ELSE
Remember Winnie the Pooh’s pessimistic, gloomy, depressed friend? Eeyore’s glass was always half empty. He dwelled on the negative and never believed things could get better. I recently read an article by Kate Rockwood that suggests how to keep this fictional...