The Fourth of July has come and gone. I thought about writing and wishing this wonderful country a happy birthday. Then I thought... that wasn't enough. So there was some thinking to be done, and some soul-searching along with the thinking. History. Love. Hope. Treason. Loyalty. Anger. Too many wars, I think. Dissension and agreement. Doubts and certainties. Laughter and tears. Helping hands and welcoming hearts. Even taken together, those words do not begin to explain this country, its people, its greatness, or its enduring value. Two hundred and fifty years. About 245 years longer than many expected it to survive. After all, it was little more than a bold experiment in a world that was deeply suspicious of experiments like this one. Yet somehow, despite every prediction and every detractor, it endured. And it continued. And will continue. I became part of this ongoing experiment some sixty-four years ago. More by circumstance than by choice. My family sent a frightened ...

Most people know what they do. Far fewer understand why they do it. Self-Discovery or Knowing Yourself, Is Crucial For Personal Growth Self-discovery is the process of gaining knowledge and understanding about oneself, including one's thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values, strengths, weaknesses, and experiences. It involves exploring your inner self to gain greater self-awareness and insight into your identity, purpose, and potential. Self-discovery includes self-reflection, self- awareness, and self- acceptance.              Some of the benefits that come with this knowledge include your ability to make better decisions, to feel better about yourself and who you are (notice the “who” and not the “what”). This better relationship with yourself will allow you to be a better person to others, to determine your value and goals, and, last -and indeed not least- to better handle difficult moments.   Common obstacles to self-discovery,...

There is no quote to share, no wise words from a philosopher of the past or present, nor an epiphany that illuminates the mind, transforming it into a brilliant burst of multicolored hues. I am staring at what should be a simple blank computer screen, but instead, in my mind’s eye, I see a beautiful pond surrounded by flowers and shrubs, nestled in a small valley where animals and trees complete the serene image. This is my very own virtual place where I go when I want some peace and some thinking space. Where some of these writings have come to life and where my mind feels totally at ease and empowered to do just that … roam, think, create, suggest, discard, accept. There I sit, with my feet in the cool water while my head flies. Yesterday, I was barely fifteen and arriving in a strange land, where people looked the same, but spoke and acted in a way I was not used to. Where everything was similar, yet very different. Now, suddenly, I am marching to my 80 th birthday. A daunting,...

"Sometimes life does not give us what we want. It gives us what we are supposed to notice." One afternoon in April, as I was sitting right here, at my computer, and while trying to put some deep reflections -or something like that- on the blank screen, I looked out the window to our driveway where our cars were parked. It was raining hard, one of those quasi-storms that every so often grace the days of late winter into early spring, and as I looked, my eyes witnessed the very moment when a big branch fell off our front lawn tree … Right on top of my unsuspecting and trusting car. As my eyes took in the full picture, and since there was really nothing I could do at that very moment, my brain -a bit slow to react to that totally unexpected situation- simply forced my face to look down, stare at what I had been writing, and continue it to its bitter ( how’s that for an effect word!) end. I won’t bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that the bureaucratic proces...

This morning, Manuel was on my mind. It has now been some four long years since the last time I was able to contact Manuel ( real first name, I’ll hold the last name…). Last time, as it usually went, I sent a Skype message to him and, within 3 days, he would call back, send a message or communicate. That last conversation came in late morning for me, late at night for him. He was then in Vietnam, still pursuing the impossible dream and working in an environment that raised the hackles in the back of my head. He made it a happy call, telling me about his then-current purpose and showing me around ( virtually, of course ) the place where he lived and worked. This was a multi-room apartment shared with a good number of people who, I must assume, were pursuing similar purposes. This is -from my own past experiences- a highly volatile and frustrating environment, where a phone call can trigger any number of probabilities. Most of them harsh and explosive. We talked for a while, and he...

We often spend many  years of our lives trying to achieve a place of personal comfort. A “safe” place, where we can feel relaxed and where we can enjoy the fruits of our labor.   Then, eventually, we think we are finally there. And at that moment, we realize this “place” is but a figment of our imagination. That space where we thought we might feel safe, has changed. It has metamorphosed into something different or perhaps “teleported” to someplace else. A different space, a different plane, perhaps a different construct. But it is no longer there, where we were sure to find it. We then have a choice. We either stop the search completely and exercise our frustration, or start anew, armed with whatever know-how we may have accumulated in our previous exploratory exercises. Learning is much like that imaginary safe place. We look, we listen, we read, we study, we try to understand, and then, when we are sure that we have absorbed all we need in order to say “I know” … we...