After the podcast of Billy Osogo on Ubuntu, I decided to search how people around the world show kindness, whether it comes from caring tradition or generosity. This may inspire you to show kindness to yourself or someone else today. Common to many cultures in Sub Saharan Africa, this concept was made popular by South … More 10 Caring Traditions from Around the World
When I invited my friend Jill to my house for Thanksgiving this year, I said, “I don’t know yet who’s coming but I know that my ex-husband is not so it’ll be better than that one year.” It was a humorous reference to Thanksgiving 2009 when my husband and I had just separated. Not wanting … More Guess Who’s Coming For Dinner?
After I wrote that post on Vulnerability last week, I had lunch with my friend Doug. He was the person I mentioned in the post as the friend who’d asked about the blog and then not responded when I shared it with him. Turns out that he’d both read and liked the writing very much … More Backpacks
I was recently reading the fourth book in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling to my 6-year-old daughter and she asked, “Why are they telling us that his parents were killed by Valdemort and he lives on Privet Drive with his aunt and uncle again? We already know that!” So we talked about the … More Creating Context
Hello! Wishing everyone a good Sunday and a good week! The dominant topic this past week has been how to save energy for me. Namely, how do I save my energy so I can be a better version of myself? I have been thinking about this longer but this week was the action time. What … More Energy Saver
Hi everyone, I thought maybe talking about human connection is a good topic for today because why not. We might at times feel like connecting with people is a waste of time. ‘Oh, if we meet, we will talk for an hour. I’d rather do this work’ or ‘I won’t call my mom. I will … More Side Benefits of Friendship
Growing up my dad always made a point about having good table manners. He made sure we never chewed food with our mouths open. That we always sat up straight. That we we set the table properly and cleared away and washed the dishes afterwards. One of the rules was if you didn’t cook, you … More Table(t) Manners
To All The Friends I’ve Lost: I simply want to say hello, although it’s been so many years. Because even as time performs its cruel, relentless dance, I still remember you. I remember us. I still laugh when I think of all our ridiculous jokes; how many fears, dreams and secrets we shared; how many … More SnapDragon Speaks: To All The Friends I’ve Lost.
Hi everyone! How are you all doing? I had some interesting experiences recently with some people and that brought to my mind the question of how we should see the people who walk into our lives. I tend to think that anything we experience is ultimately good. Some are just good. Some are good by … More If you are in my life, you are good.
What is with us humans? Why do we have a tendency to trivialize other people’s problems, but when they happen to us, it’s the end of the effing world? We compartmentalize for our friends: Hey, at least you don’t have to worry about: the political nature of Academia; gas prices; sibling rivalry; no buffer zone; … More SnapDragon Speaks: On The Unwritten Page.
Situation: Sarah and Ann have been friends for a long time and they work at the same place. They met very often and were close enough to consider each other a good friend. Ann, however, started behaving a bit strange recently. She started not wanting to meet Sarah as often, and she started coming to … More Brain-Storming 4