Spring and fall have been my favorite seasons for most of my life, yet I am seeing spring emerge with fresh eyes this year. As many of us have slowed our pace, verdant spring races ahead. I find myself acutely aware of its brisk transitions, and
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This is an opportune time to celebrate our hands. The notion has percolated in my brain since John Ballew, colleague and friend, introduced it in conversation earlier this week. As a pandemic circles the globe, news reminds us daily about the risk our possibly contaminated hands poses
Read more →I know you’ve heard the phrase, “Too close for comfort.” In most cases, when we use it, we’re describing a near miss with some kind of danger—an automobile accident, a misstep coming down stairs or onto a curb, a potential mistake that might have been embarrassing, costly,
Read more →Imagine a world where no birds sing…ever! One of the most joyless images I know is a repeated line in a poem by John Keats, La Belle Dame Sans Merci: “The sedge has withered from the lake, and no birds sing.” It conjures a bleak, lifeless, silent
Read more →Did you know that being grateful is good for your health? There is ongoing research that links gratitude with improved self-esteem, resiliency, and improved overall satisfaction with life. Grateful people are better able to build new friendships and to strengthen relationships that already exist. Research also
Read more →Only inches from my face, she holds my gaze with her shiny brown eyes. She listens intently as I share a brief tale. With a slightly quizzical look, she cocks her head, then slowly extends her broad pink tongue with a loving swipe to the end of
Read more →Many of us reveled at the sight of our brilliant sun disappearing behind a dark orb of moon last month as an historic solar eclipse traveled across our entire country. My son, Will, sent me the accompanying photograph from Nashville, TN where the eclipse was total. The
Read more →As I celebrate another birthday, my head is full of tales. Birthdays provide an annual impetus to reflect on the past while simultaneously setting goals for the future. Gene D. Cohen, a pioneer in geriatric mental health and aging research, would say I’m entering the “summing
Read more →Have you ever been moved by a beautiful piece of music, transfixed by the creative genius of a painting or inspired by evocative imagery in a poem? This month, I had the gift of a weekend’s immersion in art. On a Friday evening, I attended three
Read more →“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” —Aesop 550 BC. In a medical setting, kindness is especially welcome and meaningful. Even when things seem to be going well, healthcare encounters provoke anxiety. You’re going for your annual assessment and you
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