Category: Life & Living

Regardless of how prepared you may think you are for the death of someone you know, you’re probably not. Even when it’s expected or inevitable, the news will still come as an unwelcome surprise. A dear family friend, who struggled with health issues for many, many years, finally lost her battle yesterday. You won’t see the story posted online or read celebrity tweets surrounding her death. For she provided no influence to the sensational world we’ve all become far too obsessed with. But for the people who knew and loved her, the loss I assure you is great. As consolation for dealing with death, we often say “they’re in a better place”, “they no longer have to endure their suffering”. And while that does provide some comfort, you realize that…

“The hardest thing about "everything happens for a reason" is waiting for that reason to show up.” – Karen Salmansohn Over the last five years, I’ve fully embraced the notion that everything happens for a reason. As a younger man, I was too jaded and quick tempered to understand the reality and possibility of this concept. But now well into my 40’s, I’ve seen this notion repeated time and time again. Not only in my own life, but the lives of those around me. I suppose one might say that such a statement is nothing more than being hopeful. Good or bad, we want to believe that our current circumstances are not for naught. That our daily struggles and discoveries are part of a destiny, which will reveal itself in…

“The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.”  ― Arthur Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality When I was a little boy, my grandparents took me to see Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. From what I remember, it was part of my birthday present that year. I still recall riding in the back seat of the car filled with excitement. Soon, I had a carton of popcorn in one hand and a bag of cotton candy in the other. As we made our way to our seats, I was awe struck at how many children were just as excited, just as anxious…

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.” - Chris Bradford Writing this blog is not the only writing I do during any given week. For many years, I’ve been determined to write a novel or screenplay. As anyone who’s tried to create either will tell you, even highly prolific writers, it’s no easy task. For starters, with a full-time job and a long commute, the last thing I want to do after a long day is focus on the creative writing process. But what I find most difficult is solidifying a compelling storyline and not losing interest along the way. I’m not at a loss for ideas, believe me, just look at the stack of notebooks in my desk drawer. But after numerous attempts and failures, I found myself trying…

The year 2016 is coming to a close. Countless posts on social media have revealed that many plan on “flipping the bird” to the outgoing year at 11:59 PM on December 31st.  Why you might ask? Because they feel it was a year of disappointment, hate, violence and despair. It was a year when American’s lost all hope. Sorry to rain on your pity parade, but the only way hope can ever be abolished from our lives is if you allow yourself to kill it. Hope is something that lives in all of us and should never be so easily cast aside like many Americans have done.  Marianne Williamson once said, “We can always choose to perceive things differently. We can focus on what’s wrong in our life, or we…