aspects of the insect have long intrigued humans of a more mystical bent. The man’s research revealed that dragonflies have held special meaning in cultures around the world and across time. Some peoples have revered the dragonfly, others have feared it. Of course that says more about us humans than the insect. What struck him as especially peculiar is that Asian and Native American cultures have traditionally associated the dragonfly with positive qualities—prosperity, harmony, happiness, good fortune, and purity—while a number of European societies considered it to have a harmful and even demonic nature, calling it such things as the witches’ animal, devil&rsquo... posted on Apr 6 2023 (5,641 reads)

was thrilling to me, day-planning on such a primitive level. Because I was so ill, nothing was demanded of me by other people: no performance, no self-sufficiency, no multi-tasking. Just me living and breathing. I began to look out at the world, at everything, from the point of view of my body. And this looking out from inside my body, fully inhabiting it, living in its needs for sustenance and comfort rather than in my ego desires -- this shift was the most important in terms of my subsequent happiness. I've often heard people who have to live with an extraordinary amount of anguish or physical pain in their life say, "I know it would be better if I could accept my situation, a... posted on Apr 26 2023 (3,460 reads)

So you call forth something beautiful by asking a beautiful question. Whyte:Yes, you do. You do. And then the other part of it, too, is that there’s this kind of weighted silence behind each question. And to live with that sense of trepidation, what I call beautiful trepidation, the sense of something about to happen that you’ve wanted, but that you’re scared to death of actually happening — [laughs] that’s — yes; none of us really feel we deserve our happiness. Tippett:I want to ask you, before we hear some more poetry, this ancient, animating question, what does it mean to be human? I mean, that’s something you have reflected on with lan... posted on Jun 18 2023 (4,391 reads)

like an infant to its mother. Something called my eye upward and there. Hanging above me like a nightmare kite, a man-ape shape, backlit against the brilliant sky, arms dangling. It leaped and cavorted about on the sheer rock above me like a monkey raging gloriously in a tree. I clung to my niche and watched in open-mouthed shock as this image of primate ecstasy joyed toward me and appeared nearer to be a young man in a shabby jacket, his healthy face glowing in a glory of unabashed happiness. What my face expressed to him, I can’t imagine but as he got closer to me, he smiled at me, danced around me as I lay there and said, “Just call me your friendly neighborhood sp... posted on Jun 19 2023 (2,995 reads)

laureate of the Nobel Prize, awarded him for literature that “with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience,” Albert Camus (November 7, 1913–January 4, 1960) died in a car crash with an unused train ticket to the same destination in his pocket. The writings he left behind — about the key to strength of character, about creativity as resistance, about the antidotes to the absurdity of life, about happiness as our moral obligation — endure as a living testament to Mary Shelley’s conviction that “it is by words that the world’s great fight, now in these civilize... posted on Sep 1 2023 (3,566 reads)

a do-it-aheader, and we’ve got a joke in our family about thanking Karla from the past. We’ll find some job I finished weeks ago, or unearth finished pieces to a project that’s crucial, or we’ll find important papers in my filing system, and we’ll say, “Thanks, Karla from the past, for making things easy!” Clearly, this thankfulness is a great motivator, because in each day, I think of all kinds of cool projects and jobs to do for the future happiness of my friends, my family, and myself. It’s a total win-win. It’s time travel that works! Before I heard Dr, Lamia, I would have said that I didn’t have anxiety... posted on Oct 5 2023 (19,673 reads)

up connecting her to a wonderful and generous community of kindred spirits, a second family.             What I wish for those hoping to publish is simple. Pleasure in whatever acclaim and riches the world bestows on you. Heaps of positive reviews, easily dismissable poor ones, and good writer friends to weather all the storms with you. I wish for you the honest, quiet, and enduring satisfaction of finishing a job of work. The child-like happiness in beholding something you have made, a unqiue manifestation and expression of who you are, and then, the generous joy of giving it away... posted on Nov 29 2023 (2,837 reads)

walk.” One group of subjects took a weekly walk for eight weeks; the other group did the same but with some instructions: Tap into your childlike sense of wonder, imagining you’re seeing everything for the first time. Take a moment during each walk to notice the vastness of things—when looking at a panoramic view, for example, or at the detail of a flower. And go somewhere new, or try to recognize new features of the same old place. All of the participants reported on their happiness, anxiety, and depression and took selfies during their walks. We found that the awe-walkers felt more awe with each passing week. You might have thought that their capacity for awe would st... posted on Sep 11 2024 (2,590 reads)

them by being designed to be highly addictive. If a social media site, or truly any modern digital company, had their way, they would completely control how you spent your time and money. Some may protest that the Luddites are not sound in their philosophy because many people need access to the internet for their safety/health and connection to both work and school. The personal dissociation they are advocating for doesn’t really bring social systems any closer to protecting individuals happiness, health, safety, or connection in the face of an ever more oppressively digital world. However, part of the Luddite’s main appeal, and why they have such a strong pull, is because they... posted on Jun 15 2024 (2,875 reads)

hose. Instead, what you do is go back and say, “I’m not going to get angry this time. Fire is not the tool I want to use.” Then ask yourself, where did the anger come from? The Buddha says mostly anger comes from frustrated desire. You wanted someone to recognize you for example. You look at that and ask, “Who is the ‘me’ in there who wants to be famous?” It’s an illusory “me,” a constructed “me.” Why not rejoice in happiness for the person who gets recognition? The desire goes away and then the anger is gone. Ask yourself “How long am I going to run through my life pursuing pleasure and running from pain?... posted on Jul 5 2024 (2,310 reads)