My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who lost loved ones at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut today. My wife is a school teacher and I’d be a liar to say that every time I hear the mention of a school shooting, I cringe. I cannot imagine what those who lost someone near and dear to them must be going through – at Christmas time no less. What a truly senseless tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. If the shooter wanted to take his own life, he certainly didn’t have to take anyone else’s in the process. This horrific crime just reinforces why it is so very important to live each and every day to the fullest. When you go home tonight, wrap…
Where has the time gone? Another Thanksgiving is in the history books and I’ll admit I’m a bit of a hypocrite. I’m quick to point out that it’s far too early for Christmas decorations, and yet as I write this post, my own Christmas tree is meticulously decorated and illuminated in my front window. It had to go up at some point, right? Time goes by so very quickly. I feel like not so long ago I was complaining about how hot it was outside, and now the air has turned cold and holiday songs and movies can be seen and heard 24 hours a day. My sister-in-law and her husband live in the mountainous state of Colorado, and just a few short weeks ago they welcomed an adorable little…
It often takes something catastrophic to occur in the environments we live in for us to realize just how fragile and valuable life truly is. Hurricane Sandy has certainly been the impetus needed to remind us all of that reality. I find my mornings are now filled with an enormous amount of gratitude for the many blessings I’ve been bestowed – especially through one of the worst hurricanes the tri-state area has ever seen. I can’t help but feel that the cosmos is trying to send society a message – a message designed to rearrange what we deem so important in this life and focus on what should be our priorities. How many of us are infatuated with a materialistic lifestyle, which oftentimes leaves us in financial ruins just to…
It’s been a long time since I’ve stepped foot inside a Catholic Church – unless of course you count the Christmas Eves when my wife and I just went to enjoy the holiday music. In truth, I’ve given up on the Catholic Church a long time ago – ever since the sexual abuse scandal in which priests were allowed to roam free, even though every day citizens would’ve been criminally charged with prison time. I don’t accept hypocrisy in anyone closest to me and I certainly don’t accept it in my religion. I recently read that the Archbishop of Newark, one John J. Myers, released a 16-page statement on the archdiocesan website - vehemently denying his churches support for civil same-sex marriage equality, sadly comparing it to incest. If you’re…
Everyone has their own personal work ethic. Just look around the places you work and you’ll see a wide variety before you. Some are constant givers – always going above and beyond what’s expected of them – while others do as little as possible within the confines of a 9-5 day. I consider myself one of the “constant givers” – however, you won’t catch me burning the midnight oil at some odd hour, that's part of my work ethic. Why you might ask? Dr. Kathleen Hall says it best: “We have overstretched our personal boundaries and forgotten that true happiness comes from living an authentic life fueled with a sense of purpose and balance.” Our work takes up an enormous part of our lives, and while you certainly should enjoy…