Who Needs Kindness, Compassion, and Empathy?

Everyone. Everyone needs kindness, compassion, and empathy. Somewhere along the way, a certain sector of our society decided that being kind, compassionate, empathetic, and caring about anyone outside yourself or your immediate circle was a sign of weakness. They took this further and labeled it as being “woke”, like that was a horrid, unacceptable thing. What’s the opposite of awake, or “woke”? Asleep, or unaware. (Or let’s apply the thesaurus here, oblivious, ignorant, and unconscious.) Tell someone who takes umbrage

Every Day Can Be a New Opportunity

Every Day Can Be a New Opportunity No matter what’s happening in the world at large, this is true. Sometimes, it feels like all that’s happening in the world is terrible things. Another unthinkable, insane act on the part of the US Government. The latest awful move on the part of Putin and Netanyahu. Friends and family terrified they’ll be targeted, because nothing is certain. When it comes to other people, no matter if they’re remote or close, there is

It’s Perfectly Normal to Doubt Your Path

Venturing into the unknown always comes with challenges. When I had the opportunity to write full time, I took it. In the 5 years that I’ve been walking that path I’ve managed to finish and publish 18 books. I have 1 finished now that I’m editing and am working on another. Additionally, I’ve put out over 780 blog posts. I don’t think anyone can argue that this is a lot of writing. I knew I wanted to be a writer

Step Away From The Doom and Gloom

The choice to live in a world of doom and gloom is yours. Social media is the ultimate distraction. Even science tells us that social media has been specifically designed to grab our attention in unhealthy, addictive ways. On the one hand, social media can be a great way to keep in touch with friends. On the other hand, it’s a deluge of information, outrage, fear, and unchecked consumerism. I think social media is shortening our collective attention span and

Can You Choose How You Handle Change?

Yes. But what that looks like depends on your actions. I write this frequently: The one and only constant in the universe is change. Change is inevitable. It can, will, and does happen. Sometimes it’s so slow that you hardly know it is ongoing, but it is. Other times, it’s so abrupt you can hardly believe what happened. In either case, for the most part, change in and of itself is neither good nor bad. Another thing I write frequently:

It’s Not Selfish to Count on Yourself

You are, after all, the only you that is or will ever be. There’s an inescapable truth about you. You’re the only one in your head, heart, and soul. You, and only you, are in your mind, feel your feelings, and experience your spirit. Despite what anyone else might say, do, or want, they can’t be you. You’re it. It’s all about you. This, for many, is terrifying. So much so that they would, they think, actively give up their

Sometimes the Answers Raise More Questions

Learning is essential to life. Have you ever had a big, burning question you felt an overwhelming desire to answer? Did you take any and every path you could to find the answer to it? Then, did the answer lead to new questions? Congratulations, welcome to the Human Condition. For as long as human beings have been capable of logic and reason, we’ve asked questions to understand the universe around us. Lots of things can be explained by science. Thanks

You Cannot Bend Others to Your Will

That’s a very, very good thing. One of the most daunting aspects of the world today is how many people want you to bend to their will. Give them what they want, to hell with what you want. Accept mediocrity, take your place among so-called lessers, and don’t think for yourself. Some people resist such things actively. Some passively. Others, not at all. Because of how fear is weaponized, many people allow themselves to be the victims of a religion,

What Do You Do When You Feel Small?

Things happen that make you feel things and question your path along the way. I recently attended the Farpoint sci-fi con as an author guest. This was my 5th year doing this. As an author guest, I am given an hour to set up a table to sign and sell books. What I enjoy most, however, is that I get to take part in multiple discussion panels on a wide range of topics, including fandom, science, movies and TV, and

Be Here Now And Reap the Benefits

Being present in the moment positively empowers you. Memory is a strange thing. It tends to be colored, biased, and prejudiced by all sorts of factors, both internal and external.  The way you remember any given thing is imperfect. How you remember anything is unique and individual to you. This is in addition to how the people, places, and things of your life were situated. My memory of the space shuttle Challenger explosion as a middle-schooler in the ‘burbs of

1 2 3 … 160