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Joy and sorrow

Lots of sorrow and a little joy. Lots of joy and only a bit Of sorrow.             Who can know The formula beforehand? These are words from How Beautiful the Beloved by Gregory Orr.  One of the best kinds of friends are friends who give you a book—a book you never would have read if […]

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One year of war

February 24, 2023, marks one year of war for Ukraine’s people. One year ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia that the consequences would be “an abundance of pain, filth, blood and death….War is a huge calamity. This calamity carries a huge cost—in every meaning of this world.” Say a prayer for the people of […]

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All shall be well

My book club just read Sue Monk Kidd’s book The Book of Longings, and this is my favorite quote from the book. “When I tell you all shall be well, I don’t mean that life won’t bring you tragedy. Life will be life. I mean only you will be well in spite of it. All […]

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Create meaning

After tragedy, you don’t find meaning, Elaine Pagels, a professor at Princeton, told an audience at Arts & Letters Live in Dallas recently. “You create meaning.” Pagels writes about the death of her 6-1/2-year-old son and her husband in her new book Why Religion?

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Sense of interconnection

Elaine Pagels, a professor at Princeton, writes about the death of her 6-1/2-year-old son and her husband in her new book Why Religion? The two deaths happened about 30 years ago, but, only now, she says, is she able to write about them. “You don’t get over tragedies,” she told an audience at Arts & […]

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Personalization, pervasiveness, permanence

Psychologist Martin Seligman found that the three Ps can stunt recovery after the death of someone you love, the loss of a job or any other catastrophe. • Personalization is the belief that we are at fault. • Pervasiveness is the belief that an event will affect all areas of our life. • Permanence is […]

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Life goes on

My friend Olga told me about her friend who just died. She was a woman who had seen much and done much—and, for Olga, she had been more family than friend. I could feel Olga’s sadness when she concluded, “Life goes on.” It’s true. Robert Frost once said: ‘In three words, I can sum up […]

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Remembering Patti

I’m still overwhelmed by sadness when I remember Patti, my good friend and business partner in my real estate business. But, even though I’m grieving, I can’t keep from smiling when I think about Patti’s laughter and her loyalty and her many kindnesses. I’ve been thinking about Patti constantly since she died earlier this month. […]

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A tribute to Roxie

Fayteen and her family are still grieving for their beloved dog, Roxie. Since Roxie died recently, we have been thinking about how much our animals teach us about life and love. They are always eager to greet us in the morning, always ready to sit quietly by our side, always ready to comfort us when […]

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So many amazing things

I just read Wild by Cheryl Strayed again before my book club discussed the book. I was impressed by Strayed’s tenacity. Even though her boots were too small and her backpack was too heavy and the snow was too slippery, she kept hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. On her journey, she remembered her mother’s death […]

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