Tiny Little Joys

Posted July 2, 2025

Filed under Life

Call me trendy, but once the NYTimes let me know about “tiny little joys,” I was hooked. And I’m not talking about “a pastel-colored balloon at a child’s third birthday party” kind of joy but something that you can feel even in the darkness (The Joy Reset). “Joy does not exist only in the moments that are free of pain. That’s a false story. In fact, the brightest, tiniest, most important pieces can be found only in the dark” (McDonald). Yes, darkness.

Surrounded by the latest headlines that trigger, ignite and flame your fear, I am still going to ask you for a favor. Remember way back when social media was where you posted your best summer barbecue photos? Before influencers overtook the platform and peach pie pics were replaced by sly advertisements and political rants? I am making a promise to myself, and to y’all, that for the whole glorious month, all that I’ll post are the juicy joys of July. Care to join me? If you believe in the emerging field of positive psychology, I bet you already are saying YES! But where to start?

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You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Posted February 5, 2025

Filed under Life

If like me you are feeling as if nothing is in your control or at least nothing in the new White House regime and what is happening is the exact opposite of what you worked for and supported then these last few weeks might feel like cold fingers around your neck. The visceral pain punctuated by every step in the project 2025 playbook. We knew it was coming yet we stand powerless as our divided world is torn further from reality and straight into fiction. I don’t really know how a democracy dies or a civilization implodes but as I recycle my Amazon recycled cardboard and drive my e-bike for errands and eat organic local food I think this may be exactly what we are all bearing witness to. The Rolling Stones watched many of the pretty dreams and peaceful aspirations of the 1960’s float away in smoke yet deliberately allowed a modicum of hope in their iconic song, reminding us, “You can’t always get what you want, But if you try sometimes, well, you might find, You get what you need…” This week I found bits of what I need in the small and beautiful world I inhabit. Perhaps that’s a start.

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meters equal hope

Posted November 14, 2024

Filed under Life

Looking for a reason to set your alarm for a pre-work workout, lace up those dusty sneakers, and hit your favorite running route? Look no further, because an extraordinary young woman, Olympic athlete, mother, wife, small business owner and former student of mine, @emdreiss, has organized a November Challenge guaranteed to get you exercising with purpose, just when getting out of bed might be a hard fought trial after the Take US Backwards Bro election. She’s created, out of her own stage 4 cancer diagnosis, a plan to keep us all moving forward, and by doing so, uniting hundreds of people who refuse to let the impossible stay impossible.