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White lab receiving a treat from trainer

The good opinion of others

Many of us are motivated by the good opinion of others. We seek positive attention, from compliments and pats on the back to likes and followers on social media. Maybe it all started with gold stars in grade school. Even…

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Sparrow on a branch in winter

The glimmer effect

Most of us know what it means to be triggered—when something pokes at a tender spot inside us, triggering a not-so-pleasant reaction. Family gatherings are often a hot bed of them. So is watching the news, driving, dealing with people...in…

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Beautiful close up image of a cat with green eyes

The hex of high maintenance

Picky Passionate Proud. This catchy headline spoke to me, along with the beautiful tabby cat featured in the magazine ad. Yes, felines are notoriously finicky -- high maintenance as some would say. Yet, I can't help but admire their refusal…

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Image of compass by PDPics from Pixabay

The levee of little white lies

"I'm fine." Why is this so often our canned response when someone asks how we're feeling? Meanwhile, in her book Atlas of the Heart, Brene Brown describes a rainbow of 87 distinct emotions that we could be feeling. Not surprisingly,…

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Puzzle pieces formed into a heart and carved out of wood

The puzzle of finding our purpose

There's a very popular jigsaw puzzle on Amazon called Pure White Hell. The 'picture' is just a blank, white slate. To some, it's an exciting challenge. To others it feels like a not-so-funny April Fool's joke. Either way, it's a…

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Image of a flower shaped like a heart

Healing the heartbreak of betrayal

A betrayal feels like a bomb being dropped on our lives. We’re completely unprepared for the explosion—and we feel helpless as the world we knew and trusted goes up in flames. We'd like to "keep calm and carry on," but…

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Let it begin with me

We’ve all heard the song, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. Written as a hymn in 1957, it’s been sung by everyone from school children to Mahalia Jackson and Vince Gill. We all desire…

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Scrabble tiles help us form four-letter words

The other four-letter word

We usually think of four-letter words as the ones bleeped on network TV. This other four-letter word is not one of those. It's fawn -- which probably brings to mind a baby deer or the action of flattering or fawning…

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Artistic image of a lifelong Worry Wart

Are you a lifelong Worry Wart?

Lately I’ve been feeling a bit untethered -- like Major Tom, the astronaut from David Bowie’s song, Space Oddity, who loses touch with Ground Control and floats off into an endless black void. I loved that song as a kid,…

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Image of red padlock with heart etched on it

STOP in the name of love

Pretty much every one of us remembers an experience of being shamed. And we’ll do anything to avoid being engulfed in those burning flames of humiliation ever again. Unfortunately, people from so-called leaders to so-called lovers use shame as a…

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