Blog2018-01-31T21:03:53+00:00

My Permanent Home, Discovered in My Heart

High school home, Akron, Ohio Summer of 1963. I was nineteen and realizing that I had become “homeless”. My grandmother, who had lived with us for about ten years, had moved into her  own apartment, my mother had migrated to Oakland, California, and my dad was living in the house he had built for his new young wife and her three children. Needing to vacate my junior year college dorm, I packed a carton for storage in the [...]

A Unique Friendship: A Tribute and A Farewell

Source: Bru-nO/Pixabay   The morning of October 5, 2021, The New York Times republished a July 13, 2012 article written by Alex Williams, “Why is it hard to make friends over 30?” Williams considered his own experiences and the social science research, citing conversations with two of my favorite experts on personal relationships, Laura Carstensen, who has helped us understand “socioemotional selectivity”, and Rebecca Adams, the authority on episodic friendships. Williams laments the challenges we face in developing [...]

Showing Love to Myself by Honoring a Commitment

Source: sasint/Pixabay As 2017 drew to a close, I contemplated the last of "52 Ways to Show I Love You".  The year had offered opportunities to explore so many facets of love and ways to express it.  I felt profoundly grateful, but also ready to move on.  There were so many other things I wanted to say - about love and loving, about gratitude for a life of living and learning lessons (some of them quite challenging), about [...]

January 12th, 2018|Aspects of Loving, Life, Refracted|

Show Love by Getting Ready for Change Together

Source: Kaz/Pixabay   When we or someone we love faces a change of role, of home, or of responsibilities, we can show love by preparing for changes together.  In a unique way, getting ready makes you ready.  Whether you chose an approach that is driven by an ultimate destination or one that evolves organically, you honor your relationship when you navigate the transition collaboratively.  To read more, see my post in "Life, Refracted" on PsychologyToday.com by clicking here. [...]

January 5th, 2018|Aspects of Loving, Life, Refracted, Transformation|

Change Brings Its Own Demands

Source: Rawpixel/Pixabay Throughout our lives, conditions inside us, around us, and in the larger world can demand that we change in response to shifts that occur.  Such changes present unique challenges to love relationships. Read my 51st post in "52 Ways to Show I Love You" on "Life, Refracted" at PsychologyToday.com by clicking here.

To Show Love, Receive With Grace

Source: BattershellTactical/Pixabay So often our early experiences interfere with responding to others in a fully open way, free of distortions or interpretations that have little or nothing to do with their intentions.  Similarly, our emotions can cloud and misdirect our responses to the gifts of others.  To consider how we can best receive offerings from those we love, read my post from "Life Refracted" on PsychologyToday.com by clicking here.

December 24th, 2017|Close Relationships of many kinds, Life, Refracted|

Show Love by Providing Pleasure

Source: Mariolh/Pixabay When we feel an impulse to bring a loved one a gift, heightened consciousness can help us make a perfect choice.  To examine types of gifts your might consider, your reasons for wanting to offer it, and the impact you hope it will have, read this post from "Life, Refracted" on PsychologyToday.com by clicking here.

Go to Top