Although I’ve always been a shy person, especially in unfamiliar social situations, fear never seemed to restrict me. It didn’t complicate the way I navigated through life’s many complexities either. During my youth, when introversion debilitated me the most, I still focused on various goals, methodically working toward their accomplishment…

Recently, I celebrated a birthday. I’m fortunate that this annual occasion occurs during the warmer months of the year. So indulging in frozen yogurt decadence and enjoying a long, scenic walk, two of my favorite pasttimes, are quite achievable activities to mark this anniversary. But as I get older, thoughts…

Lately, I can’t help but marvel at the horrendous level of negativity surrounding us at all times now. It seems to me that hate, cruelty, and regressive policies designed to remove rights with brutal efficiency monopolize the air space far too often. Sometimes, the speed with which these new laws…

Most of the time, I’m a pretty composed, level-headed person, at least on the surface. It takes quite a lot of prompting for me to release the anger that silently churns so often within the deep corners of my mind, far in the background depths to avoid offending anybody. But…

Lately, my thoughts have been gravitating with persistent alarm to the culture of hate that continues to blossom further and further in America. This terrible mindset steadily creeps along, extending at a rapid pace from the margins of society into the mainstream. …

At the beginning of this year, I wrote about my determination to be hopeful for the future despite all of the troubling realities that we face as a nation. Much has transpired throughout the intervening weeks that cause me to feel great concern, though I refuse to lose hope. Yet…

Now that 2022 has concluded, a year of immense political complexities and hateful strife looming from the last presidential administration, I feel the need to look forward with a sense of hope. It’s an eager desire for long-term positvity to blossom in our world, surpassing the corruption and intolerance, after…

I admit it. On a consistent, quite unwavering basis, I’m a worrier. Even when no immediate threat appears to be hovering nearby, I tend to feel a constant swirl of dread nevertheless. This unfortunate inclination has a great deal to do with my general anxiety. Fearfulness is a dark reality…

Over the last few angst-ridden years, with stories of hate-driven violence, political hostility, and conspiracy-theory madness, my outrage had slowly numbed to a frustrated acceptance. During this chaotic time, it became quite clear to me that no amount of reason could stop this pervading lunacy from its infectious hold. But…