In the novel, Les Miserables, the bishop of Digne is faced with the decision of how to treat men who were despised in the community because of their past behavior.  Those of you familiar with the story will likely remember the mercy and empathy he demonstrated to the main character and former convict, Jean Valjean, even after he has betrayed the …

While I was doing some research, I came across an old McCalls article from December 1959. I know, how could something written more than 50 years ago possibly have anything relevant about Christmas today? As it turns out their suggestions for making Christmas more meaningful seemed to be just what I needed. Christmas not only represents the giving of gifts …

When I was a little girl, I loved Christmas!  The anticipation of Christmas morning was almost more than I could bear.  On Christmas Eve I would wake several times in the night and tiptoe from my bed to the window, looking and listening for any signs or sounds of the coming of Christmas morning.  I still love celebrating Christmas, but …

When I think of family traditions, the movie “Fiddler on the Roof” is the first to come to mind. Growing up, it was one of my dad’s favorite movies and plays. I remember him singing the Tradition song all around the house. Waving his hands and doing the fiddler jig — it was quite entertaining to my sister and me. If …

We’ve come to the end of our challenge, and we’ve covered quite a bit of information. You’ve learned why acknowledging, embracing and expressing gratitude is so important. You’ve also learned a few specific ways to begin a practice of gratitude in your own life. I’d like to expand on those ideas as we end our challenge to provide you with …

Gratitude is not an emotion our brain naturally finds useful. Our brains purpose is to seek out comfort and joy and watch for any danger or trouble that might get in the way of those feelings. The ironic part is because it is so focused on looking for what is wrong it misses so many of the amazing and good …