There’s no pressure to do anything, other than the pressure I put upon myself. I used to struggle with high blood pressure, which I blamed on all the stress in my job. I had what I felt were a lot of responsibilities over a lot of things. I was technically responsible for a bunch of…

Maybe the desire is getting my truck running when it won’t start. I have that desire, and now I’ve got to go “get it.” That might mean I need to go get a part. Maybe I can’t afford the part. Maybe there’s the added anxiety of being late for work and, “If I’m late one…

A friend came over for a visit the other day. Before dinner, we took a few bicycles for a ride around the lake. We were riding beach cruiser style bicycles. They aren’t the fastest bikes, but they are designed for comfort. While we were riding, it came up in conversation that my friend was in…

Every morning there is a gentle knock on my bathroom door. As soon as my ass-cheeks hit the toilet seat, my wife hands me a cup of coffee. Not just coffee. A really good cup of coffee. Sometimes it has a shot of espresso in it. Sometimes the cream is frothed. She seems to take…

Here is how helping others helps me in my own recovery. I was told that it would, and it has. Another thing I was told was that the best thing I could do for the people I claim to love in life was to focus entirely on my own healing, making that the number one…

A fellow was in a bind. He was struggling with what he perceived to be a moral dilemma. As he considered the decision he faced, he said, “I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing here, and making the right decision.” “The right decision per who, exactly? Per some other person? Don’t…

I heard a wise man say that there was ultimately only one true distinction to constantly be aware of. That is the distinction of “out there” on the front side of my eyeballs, and “in here,” on the inside of my eyeballs. Those are two distinctly different universes. I was explaining to Sue that I…

I bet if there’s one thing that follows me for the rest of my life on this planet, it’s my online audio music subscription. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say it, I don’t know how “books” work, but I have a Spotify account. I’ve got different playlists for different circumstances. If I’m just…

Not only am I responsible for my internal mental state of mind, I’m also responsible for what I do with it.I have it that my mind is like a body of water.Left unstimulated/unused, it eventually stagnates like a still pond and becomes lifeless. Science shows that many cases of dementia can be delayed, even prevented,…

If I imagine my own life experience is but a game (like a video game), there are two modes I can choose to play the game in. Single-player competitive, or multiplayer cooperative. In competitive mode, I see myself as a separate being from everyone else. Survival of the fittest. To the victor go the spoils.…