Category Archives: Develop Understanding

Reality Check: A Curious Quest

Everyone has an opinion about something. And some people seem to have opinions about everything! While this can make for lively conversation, differences in opinion can also result in hard feelings. Our lives go a little more smoothly when we … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Those Pictures in our Heads

Have you noticed that people sometimes make choices that don’t make sense? Maybe you’ve even done this yourself! Curious, isn’t it? We know better. Why, oh why? If you’ve been reading these columns, then you know that I have a … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Expectations and Negotiations

During a New Year’s decluttering spree, I stacked objects to redirect to new homes in a pile that was way too high. What happened? It fell over. You and I both knew that would happen. The logical question: “If you … Continue reading

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Reality Check: The Present and the Presents

Presents are top of mind for many at this time of year. How I look at gift-giving and gift-receiving has changed over the years, and I suspect that it may have also changed for you. As we move along in … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Stocking the Toolkit

If you wanted to equip a young person with the tools they need to have a satisfying life, what would you choose? My long-standing answer contains only three items: we need to be able to read, to write, and to … Continue reading

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Reality Check: That First Impulse

“Follow your heart.” This phrase is on T-shirts, plaques, coffee mugs. People quote it and presumably rely on it as a guiding principle. Let’s take a look at what that might mean.

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Reality Check: Expectations and the Pictures We Carry

Whenever two or more people get together and talk, we have an opportunity to share joy, to create understanding, and to deepen relationships. Getting together can be such fun! Getting together also creates an opportunity for conflict, and there’s plenty … Continue reading

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Reality Check: The Power of Presence

We have so many options in how we can communicate. There’s phone, text, video chat, email, interactions on social media sites.…We could even write a letter! One could easily get the impression that we run the risk of too much … Continue reading

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Reality Check: The Love Knot

In skilled hands, two pieces of rope can be manipulated in such a way that they resemble a pair of intertwined hearts. This is known as a love knot. Romantic, isn’t it? A story told by E. Annie Proulx in … Continue reading

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Reality Check: Colouring Our Outlook

Do you ever feel that many situations in your life are random, where you can’t pin down a reason for why they happen? Even if the events are good, when we can’t find causes, life can seem out of control. … Continue reading

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