Why are we so obsessed with material possessions?

Why are we so obsessed with material possessions?

Life & Living
If you need to be convinced that our global society has a problem with material possessions, I turn to the following report. By the end of 2020, the combined weight of all human-made objects will far exceed all living things on Earth. Think about the reality of that statement for a minute and then ask yourself, why are we so obsessed with material possessions? The pandemic has allowed us to examine our lives and our priorities. For some, they are using this time wisely and making changes to better their post-pandemic existence, while others have no self-awareness and see nothing requiring any real change. One area I believe we all could use a little help (myself included) is the question of why are we so obsessed with material possessions. The accrual of more and…
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Your home is living space so start enjoying your collections

Your home is living space so start enjoying your collections

Life & Living
“Your home is living space, not storage space.” ― Francine Jay As a young boy, there was an unmistakable difference between my grandmother’s house and my great-grandmothers. My grandmother’s house was a warm, comforting, welcoming place, which was soon realized by anyone walking through the front door. My great-grandmother’s, by contrast, was more like a museum filled with “collections” - where everything was there for you to see but not touch, let alone sit on! When my great-grandmother passed away, all the furnishings and decorations which she’d purchased over the years and treasured for decades were sold or discarded with little importance. What’s sad is that she never let anyone truly enjoy any of them - not even herself. It begs the question, if you and those around you can’t…
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The places we call home are now filled with a blessing we take for granted

The places we call home are now filled with a blessing we take for granted

Life & Living
The places we call home. Be it an apartment, a single-family house or a condominium, it’s a place of safety, solace and shelter – a place defined more by the people who live there than the dwelling itself. But the places we call home have changed drastically over the last nine months – shifting its traditional architype to something many of us never expected. With businesses and schools across the country moving their everyday operations remotely, homes are adding make-shift offices and classrooms to their overall floorplans. Others, who’ve sadly lost employment during the pandemic, are setting up dedicated quiet spaces for video interviews with organizations and recruiters, while struggling with the burden that their homes are a financial liability contingent upon employment. There’s no denying that families and spouses…
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What does voting for Trump say about YOU in the 2020 election

What does voting for Trump say about YOU in the 2020 election

Life & Living
Exercising your privilege to vote is not something we should take lightly. It requires serious thought and reflection to grasp that casting our ballot doesn’t just determine an election, but it says a great deal about the person we are and the role model we will be for younger generations to come. Ask yourself, what does voting for Trump say about you? Casting our ballot is tied to personal perceptions about the kind of person we are – the values you instill in your family and in your children. While it’s easy to assume that voting is more about policies and economics, it’s an honest reflection of what we value and condemn, whether we realize it or not. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express…
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Long Term Care Insurance is an investment in you AND your family

Long Term Care Insurance is an investment in you AND your family

Life & Living, Youth
Early on in my married life, the subject of Long Term Care Insurance was never a conversation at the dinner table. As is common with most people today, we certainly weren’t thinking about aging – choosing to live (and spend) in the here and now rather than dwell on realities aging might bring. But the realities of aging - of becoming ill and dying – are an unavoidable part of everyone’s journey. While we ourselves might still be relatively young and healthy, those who have come before us are sadly growing older. Before long, the case for Long Term Care Insurance is profoundly staring us in the face. My grandparents were not wealthy, and truthfully, I’m not even sure such plans existed in the 1970s and 1980s, when it would…
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