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Grief. We often associate this word with losing a person, or a pet. Yet, in reality we are grieving smaller things every day. The simple things, such as change in our health, change of a job, a friend moving away, a child going off to school, can all leave us feeling sad,...

Time tends to go fast. If we are not careful, we will wonder what happened to the past 20 or so years.  It had been 20 years since I returned to my homeland of New Zealand.  It was beyond time really.  Most of my family had either passed or moved so there was not a great desire...

We can learn a lot from people and their stories, so let me share a story my friend Sharon Davis wrote. Her wisdom speaks to me, and you will see why as she shares her personal journey: “I have known this woman for three years, playing blackjack at the assisted living home where...

I was sitting with some friends the other day and talking about how important our friendships are to each other. I tend to have an open-door policy with my friends, which means if you are in the neighborhood, pop on by. I enjoy these moments, sometimes even if it is just for a...

Now that we’re into the New Year, I am taking time to reflect, learn and challenge myself to new goals. It does not have to happen on New Years itself. It is about taking some time to reflect. It can happen today, or next week. The key is that we take the time to reflect. It is...

“New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which...

There are some difficult truths that we often find challenging to accept. The more we can hold these truths the more we are able to embrace our life. We believe that the more we turn away from the difficult parts of life the happier we are, but the opposite is true. I started...

Leo Buscaglia once wrote: “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” A friend of mine was at a nursing home and sent me an...

“Science Fair” is a documentary film from National Geographic about high school students who compete internationally with their science projects. Some 1,700 teens from 78 countries compete to be named Best in Fair. This movie left me laughing yet amazed at the incredible projects...

Summer has ended and fall is here. The change of seasons is always a wonderful time for reflection. Last weekend I spent three days at a place in Big Sur where there was no cell phone service, no internet and no television. This gave me a wonderful opportunity to reflect and...

There are four chemicals that exist in our bodies that are responsible for making us feel our lives are satisfying, happy, content and fulfilling. Each of these chemicals is responsible for different experiences in our life that lead to fulfillment. These chemicals are dopamine,...

Octopuses are pretty impressive; they can be as small as 2.5 cm and weigh less than a gram, or be as big as 600 pounds and over 30 feet. They could not be further away from being like a human if they tried. They have three hearts, live totally under water and have eight limbs....

There is nothing like four days in the hospital to make you reflect on life.  Life as we know it tends to stop and our attention is brought directly into the moment: our health, our emotions, our relationships. That is what happened to me over the past week. Not what I thought I...

Two books that have stayed on my must-read list are “Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman” by Alice Steinbach and “A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman” by Joan Anderson. Although I read these books many years ago, they left an impact on me....

Having regrets is not unusual, yet studies show how as we get older we can regret having regrets. Having regrets means our expectations to be perfect and do everything right sets us up for more regrets. We often spend too much time worrying about doing the right thing rather than...

Most of us can remember being talked about in high school and how it can make us doubt ourselves. That feeling does not always end in high school. I recently heard some people talking negatively about me. It hurt me for a moment. I felt like I was in high school again, then I...

What a week—the losses of two incredible, well known people through suicide: Kate Spade, and Anthony Bourdain. Both Kate and Anthony appeared to be full of life, having it all, wealth, travel, success, and admiration. Yet they both struggled with depression. So often we think...

Whenever you’re having a bad day, bad week or even a bad month, it’s easy to get stuck in our own stuff. At these times, remember to adjust your attitude, as most of these things that are making life bad in that moment do not really matter in the long term. They are usually just...

Most of us do not realize the power of the brain and how much influence it has on our lives. At last month’s Newport Beach Film Festival, I watched a documentary called “My Tourette’s.” This film followed five people through a new form of treatment for Tourette’s, which has long...

We are so fortunate to have the Newport Film Festival here every year. It is my favorite time of year. Every year I get to review some of the films that are going to be shown. The three documentaries that I selected this year are three of my favorite topics in life: people...