The Latest Wow: The Great Divide
Not long ago, I was counseling a couple when one partner, Tracie, wowed me with this: “There will be days in which I will get mad at you and you will get mad at me but we will resolve it. I don’t want to live a life of avoidance.” Tracie is on to something. […]
The Latest Wow: Where Life is
Not long ago, Todd, a client, wowed me with this: “I want to be the type of person who loves others above myself. I know that’s where life is.” Todd lives in a self-contained sphere that doesn’t include other people. He’s not a hermit—living an isolated existence. Far from it. He’s a husband, father, […]
Don’t Settle for a Beige Life
When we follow our dreams, we take up residence in a much larger part of ourselves . . . our soul. “Be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” – Rumi That line could apply to many circumstances. It can apply to a person, an activity, a career or a dream […]
Our Favorite Illusion
Some dreamy-eyed part of us clings to the illusion that through a sheer act of will we can change another human being. Such misguided thinking is as unrealistic as believing we can get a walnut tree to start producing apples. For six years Sonya has asked her husband—who works in the remodeling industry—to fix the […]
Don’t Settle for a Ho-hum Life
At a young age, we begin the habit of limping in order to harmonize with friends, our family, a job, a social order. By the time we’re adults, it’s become so much a part of us that we do it unthinkingly—automatically. To stop doing it now would be jolting because we’re used to it. But […]
True to Ourselves
“Why doesn’t he leave her! I’m tired of this! I’m tired of waiting … for what … more disappointment?!” That was Jill, Trent’s girlfriend, who’s at the end of her rope. Although he claims she’s #1, he has chosen to hang on to a relationship with Laura, a woman he no longer loves. What stops […]
Make YOU Happy
Jill and Trent have been in a relationship for a long time. They love each other very deeply and treasure their time spent together. The problem? Trent can’t leave his former girlfriend, Laura. He doesn’t love her, but he can’t bring himself to cause her pain. Trent is one of those people who easily—too easily—feels guilty and […]