14 Sep, 2021
Finally she asked the question that I was so eager to avoid in our conversations. My main goal was and is offering moral support to a gifted and promising young writer, who lost her sight due to an illness. Such a major change in anyone's life is bound to trigger the five stages of processing grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance (a.k.a....
18 May, 2021
Last Thursday, I felt a little sad because I missed her presence. Allowing someone into your life has the downside that they will not always be around you. I was about to start blaming someone whose problems are keeping her away from me. Then I realised that my notion is absurd. I should stay in my Here & Now rather than a Now & There. Another dark side of...
3 May, 2021
My new girlfriend has asked me twice already about my plans. Her question feels like one of the lines from the 2009 book and 2012 rom-com "Think like a man, act like a woman": what are your (short term & long term) goals? I’m not sure that I have any, apart from reconnecting with my daughter. Recently, I reconnected with my BFF. That leaves only one item on...
23 Feb, 2021
Lately, I've been wondering how to channel my anger. I know the (positive) solution: writing about it. There are other - negative - solutions, like resorting to violence. These solutions don't match my character. More and more, I'm understanding the link between (perceived) injustice and violence. Hence, a follow-up on my 2016 blog on anger management. My...
11 Jan, 2021
In general, empathy is considered a virtue rather than a vice. Nevertheless, recent research indicates that empathy has a dark side (eg, 2019 book by Fritz Breithaupt, Medium, NPR). A Psychology Today article, however, claims that only people have a dark side; not empathy.In my view, the global corona viral disease, including its related...
7 Jan, 2021
My mother (86) often says to me that I should care less about things. She is not alone in her view. Close friends say the same to me. I wish I could feel comfortably numb, like others. I cannot even if I want to. There is no ON/OFF button inside me. My default value is to care about people and things, provided that they/these are worth my time and effort. I am...
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