09Sep 2015 by CJ

Disappointments can be caused by high expectations

Life & Living
“Hope is itself a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords: but, like all other pleasures immoderately enjoyed, the excesses of hope must be expiated by pain; and expectations improperly indulged must end in disappointment.” Samuel Johnson I’m a dreamer – I readily admit that. My mind is always filled with some grandiose idea or ambition, which rarely (if ever) plays out the way it does in my head. Some might call that an overactive imagination – at this stage in the game I call it the perfect scenario for disappointments. Johnson’s statement above sums it up perfectly: “expectations improperly indulged must end in disappointment”. My expectations of life, people and experiences have always been extremely high. The caveat to that logic is when the…
Read More
08Sep 2015 by CJ

Last wills and testaments can be cause for anxiety

Life & Living
Jack has died. His lawyer is standing before the family and reads out Jack’s Last Will and Testament. “To my dear wife Esther, I leave the house, 50 acres of land, and 1 million dollars. To my son Barry, I leave my Big Lexus and the Jaguar. To my daughter Suzy, I leave my yacht and $250,000. And to my brother-in-law Jeff, who always insisted that health is better than wealth, I leave my sun lamp.” - Anonymous Perhaps one of the most melancholy tasks to do in life than preparing last wills and testaments. You know, that little piece of paper that states who you want to leave what to when you die? Making decisions about what happens to everything you’ve worked so hard to acquire upon your death can…
Read More
30Aug 2015 by CJ

Gossiping isn’t for building self-esteem

Life & Living, Youth
“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”  ― Henry Thomas Buckle As harsh as this might sound, anyone who tells you they don’t “gossip” on some level is a blatant liar. Gossiping is as common and natural to human beings as breathing, and therefore is an unavoidable part of our social makeup. Dr. Peggy Drexler writes on psychologytoday.com, “Anthropologists believe that throughout human history, gossip has been a way for us to bond with others—and sometimes a tool to isolate those who aren’t supporting the group.” Drexler is 100% correct – gossiping does create a bond with those we otherwise would struggle to maintain a relationship with, by uniting others with a common interest. Sadly that “common interest” happens to be talking about others behind their…
Read More
25Aug 2015 by CJ

Cherish your legacy – It’s worth remembering

Youth
When my grandfather’s health began to decline, the family decided that both my grandparents would be better off if they moved to a modestly sized, one floor apartment. Sadly this meant leaving the light blue colonial home they had lived in for almost 50 years. I remember on countless nights and weekends my wife and I would go over and help pack up decades of cherished memories and mementos into dozens of cardboard boxes. It was a bittersweet occasion for me as the realization that their years here on this earth were not infinite. While I was packing up a closet in one of their spare bedrooms, I came across a large photo album with a colorful patchwork print of varying flowers on its cover. I remember asking grams (that’s…
Read More
18Aug 2015 by CJ

Abundance should never cloud your gratitude

Generosity & Kindness
When a clerk at an Indianapolis check-cashing establishment testified that an armed robber in his early 20’s asked her to pray with him before stealing $20, everyone in the courtroom was speechless. “He said that he hated to have to do this, but times were hard and he had no choice.” For a young man to have any remorse at all for stealing a measly $20, I think it’s safe to assume that he was at the end of his rope – sadly he’s not alone in American today. I think we fail to realize just how quickly the rug of financial stability can be pulled from under us. Yet American’s continue to squander their earnings to maintain an image purely based on material possessions and brand names. This “image”…
Read More