I live only three hours away from Chicago and I lived there for a few years. I still love to visit occasionally, but doing the same old thing can get boring. It’s a big city, so there are many areas to explore. That’s why I decided to try out a new neighborhood and a fun exhibit when I visited Chicago recently.
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Would You Rather be Lucky or Perfect?
I couldn’t decide what to write about today so I opened up my copy of Old Friend from Far Away by Natalie Goldberg and the page I came to had Lucky on it. It told me to write for ten minutes on who lucky I’ve been. Still not moved, I looked across the page: Perfect. Without looking at the prompt beneath that word I thought about the juxtaposition of these two words. What’s the difference between the two? And if I had to choose one, which would I pick?
Of course Natalie must have thought about the yin and yang of these words too. They didn’t just happen to land across the page from one another. If I were perfect, would I need luck? If I counted on luck, would I need to be perfect?
Reading Mrs. Kennedy and Me in the Time of Trump
I could have chosen a stranger time to read Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin than this week as the Trump impeachment hearings went live. This inside story from the Secret Service agent who protected the wife of President Kennedy shows what the presidency used to be like. It is hard to believe such protocol, decorum and restraint ever ruled the office of the President when seeing today’s players.
10 Ways to be More Thankful
During this month of thankfulness it’s easy to be grateful for everything we have. But how do you make counting your blessings a routine? Here are just a few ways to be thankful more often.
An Ambassador of Kindness Far Away from Home
People are no good. They’ll rob you blind. Steal your identity. And your money. Or will they? Are there still good people in this world? Sure. You probably know some. But what about people you don’t know? Can you trust them too?
Everything I Was Doing While I Should Have Been Blogging
I have been blogging for about two years. In that time, I’ve come to a regular schedule of publishing a blog every Thursday. No matter what. Except last week. So what happened? Well, nothing really. Just everything else got in the way. So here’s a list of everything else I was doing when I could have been blogging.
Taking a Longer Look at Impulsivity
Impulsivity gets a bad name rap. Impulsive people make decisions without thinking and pay the price. They buy things they don’t need, speak without thinking, and they take unnecessary risks. But it turns out impulsivity isn’t all bad. Impulsivity can help you take advantage of opportunities you’d miss otherwise or come up with ideas on the fly.
Are Male and Female Brains Different?
Do the genders have different brains? Turns out, the question isn’t so easily answered. The answer is as changeable as our brains. And it depends on how you measure the differences. A new book, Gender and Our Brains, by Gina Rippon examines the issue.
The question of male and female brains has become more complex over the years as our understanding of gender has evolved. For this reason, Rippon states clearly in the beginning of the book that she is talking about gender differences, which are those that relate to socialization issues, not those that have to do with biological differences of sex. She states that the social pressures assigns to gender, inherently cause a female and male brain to develop differently.
Physically, the differences have been harder to prove. One thing that been shown is that male brains are larger than women’s brains, as men tend to be larger than women. For most of the 19th century, this was the focus of research and was the basis for showing women’s inferiority. The study of craniology was used to measure skulls and had complex formulas to measure brain capacity.
How to Journal for Motivation and Creativity
Where does the time go? In the past month I’ve been to a writer’s conference, on vacation to New York, a mini getaway to another part of the state, attended a family wedding, and finished a major project at work. I’m tapped out, which doesn’t leave much time for creative pursuits. Besides this blog, I haven’t written a word since I don’t know when. If you are like me and need a jump start, here are some ideas to use your journal for motivation and creativity.
Three Books to Revisit this Fall
Fall is here. The calendar says so and the weather will follow soon. We’ve already had a few windy, grey and stormy days that made me want to do nothing but sit inside. As I did I thought about the books that reminded me of this time of year. Here are a few books to revisit this fall if you’re looking for something seasonal.