Connect or Suffer

The cashier at the checkout counter smiles as she hands you your change. It’s a thin smile, the product of countless similar exchanges. As you walk out with your tube of hemorrhoid cream your mind, unprompted, begins to ask: “Was Read more…

The Hidden Power of Stories

For most of my life, fiction was one of the only things that inspired me. I was a shy kid and young adult and, for me, inhabiting more forthright lives was the ultimate appeal. For that reason I was a fiction junkie, and I used fictional worlds as a placeholder for the real one.

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You Need to Relax

If you’re like most people, even reading the headline above causes an involuntary tightening in your chest. The same phrase, uttered by someone with whom you are debating, arguing, or even simply talking, might produce that same reaction… and quickly Read more…