If you think words are simply labels for things that already exist, you're wrong. They are conjurers. They bring worlds to life or snuff...

I remember my high school psychology teacher explaining that the human brain often overlooks information in the middle of something. It's called "the serial position effect." As an example, he asked us to recall each other's phone numbers, (remember when we used to know them?!) and sure enough the theory held true. We seem to do this in other parts of life as well. Firsts and lasts are easily imprinted on our overloaded minds. I've come to realize there's a magic in the midd

I was an angsty kid. I remember my grandmother saying something in Italian as she watched me bounce around her living room. When I inquired my mom told me, "She said you're too hyper." She wasn't wrong. But life has a way of giving us everything we need. One day in 1980, my oldest brother asked, "Hey, you wanna go on a run with me?" That day, I gained an outlet for my energy and embarked on a love affair with running that would change the course of my life. At 56, I see rea

went.   -Omar Khayyam Into this Universe and Why not knowing Nor Whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing; And out of it, as Wind along the waste, I know not Whither, will-nilly blowing. Myself when young did eagerly frequent Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument About it and about: but evermore Came out by the same door where in I went. -Omar Khayyam On my daily commute, I whiz past a sign that advertises a “Life Coach.” My social media accounts also blast ads for such

From an online comment on Alain DeBotton's New York Times article, Why You Will Marry The Wrong Person: "A world authority on snow safety once said, 'You really can't call yourself an avalanche expert until you've been in an avalanche.' We so often take the plunge, no matter how cautiously measured, before we're old enough and experienced enough to have learned ourselves enough to unite in love in a sustainable way. We are in love but don't know ourselves enough to know what

"Our very life here depends directly on continuous acts of beginning." John O'Donohue (January 1, 1956-January 4, 2008) I was in Barnes & Noble last week flipping through the book, Die With Zero: Getting All You Can from Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins. It's listed as a Wall Street Journal best-seller, "A common-sense guide to living rich...instead of dying rich. " I landed on a page subtitled, "Charity Can't Wait." I'd been contemplating finding a charity to don

As I’ve entered life past fifty,  memories press me at every turn. You would think I’m on my way to becoming one of those pitiful senior citizens who gabs happlessly to any bystander, “When I was young that building used to be a school…” But it's where my brain seems geared as of late.   Is this just a natural consequence of losing my mom last year?  Granted, it was a closure of sorts in regards to childhood. The family home of seventy years was sold ; Park Avenue is no lon

It touches every life on the planet: the need to love and be loved. Its elusiveness has made it a mainstream topic of conversation for centuries and the fuel for yet another new dating website according to the digital billboard that glares at me in the dark of each morning commute to work. The riddle that plagues us in modern times is can we stay in love once we find it? Many grew up with parents whose marriages were colorless examples of love. We wanted more authentic r

We use millions of words every day. Some of us use many more than we should, and almost all of us regret the way we use words at one time or another. (Ever utter the phrase, “I don’t know why I said that?”) I first thought about the power of words when I remembered something I said as a child. One time as my girlfriends and I were playing and like little girls sometimes do, we started bragging about all the things we were going to claim for our adult lives. I exclaimed,

At some point in a 28 year marriage, I realized that “love” had little to do with it. The phone calls home I made to gain direction from my mom only complicated things; she was a staunch Catholic and product of the Great Depression. "Suffering is a part of it," she'd lecture. In retrospect, I realize the many layers to life and marriage. Of course I was blind to these when I wed at twenty-three. But at fifty-five, I’ve earned at least the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in

Is it me, or does all the buzz revolve around the Millenials and Gen Z? I realized recently that Gen X often gets left out of many conversations in the news, business magazines, commercials, you name it. And what’s with the “X”? As the youngest of six, it gives me a glimpse of what it must feel like to be that notorious “middle child” who gets overlooked. We are in fact the middle child of the century, squeezed between the Baby Boomers and the illustrious Millenials. We X'

I recently had a friend insist that I read the book The Alchemist. It tells the story of a young shepherd who travels far and wide in search of a treasure he repeatedly dreams about . On his journey, he overcomes obstacles and strives to interpret recurring dreams which teach him what we all eventually come to realize: life is not linear, and destiny is formed through a succession of meaningful people and experiences—not one grand, defining moment This small book has become