“That Sunday evening as I updated my timesheet, in the cell of 6:00-6:30, I had to write: Put Miles to sleep.”
Perspective
The Downside of Empathy
One of the biggest reasons to read fiction with a child is to develop his capacity for empathy: a good novel will put you into another person’s mindset. That’s a vital life skill. Empathy helps with everything from navigating relationships to negotiating business deals and peace treaties. If we all taught empathy to our children, […]
The Path of Anxiety in my Mind
I would not classify myself as an anxious person, but I do have a predisposition towards feeling anxiety once in awhile. When I’m feeling anxiety, there’s an unnaturalness in my brain, a threat of unpredictability in the world, and an extra layer over my reactions to people and events. My brain catches all of my […]
Practicing Bravery on Flute and Life
Yesterday I played my flute, which is not something I do very often in a non-teaching environment. I used to have major skills; I don’t anymore. It can be depressing to try and play a piece that I performed for a college recital, for example, and listen to myself make multiple mistakes I’d never have […]
Are You Prepared To Be 99?
My grandmother turned 99 last month. When she was born in 1919, life expectancy was just 52 years old. As a child, she could never have expected to live until 99; she might not even have met a 99 year-old person until she was much older. She wasn’t prepared for such a long life. Nor […]
A Happier Perspective On Donald Trump’s Presidency
Readers, if there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I love getting a shift in perspective. A slight twist of the lens, a zoom in or out, some new information provided: I feel a deep thrill to have an issue freshened, a story given new dimension. (In another life, I might have been a […]