“What shall we think of a well-adjusted slave?” –Abraham Maslow The answer to that question is not simple. In some situations, coping and making-the-best-of is all that can be done. And what’s important is to avoid lingering shame at having done no more. Other times, adapting is copping out. How to tell the difference? I […] Read More

Overslept. By two hours! Then forgot I’d had a morning appointment at Autologic about a car problem. Then stumbled around trying to make sense of things. Finally, rolled out toward car shop and the rest of the day. Now it’s just past noon. People at AutoLogic quickly did the necessary check, and I was out […] Read More

“Most people believe only in degrees of jeopardy and live in degrees of greater and lesser anxiety, but never in true relaxation.” quoted on Gaiam from Paul Richards, co-author with Patricia Richards of Wild Attraction, a Ruthlessly Practical Guide to Extraordinary Relationship– a book about the effects of subtle energy on relationships. Note from Peggy: […] Read More

Going to the moon probably requires some boldness. The 40th anniversary of the first moon landing was yesterday. I was twenty when it happened and it still seems unbelievable to me that anyone has done that. I like the idea that something can be permanently amazing. And that anyone has the nerve to visit another […] Read More

“Getting By With Brassiness” was the headline of the story in my local News and Observer yesterday. It pointed out a change that I’m surprised I haven’t noticed: the string of new female lead characters who are gutsy and tough, yet still star. They’re not fallen women, or drugged-out, or whores with hearts of whatever. […] Read More

My elderly husband (67) and I (60) had dinner in a sports bar Friday night, the Salem Street Pub. I never did that before–though I once edited a story that importantly took place in one–and didn’t do it this time on purpose. It looked like a cafe sort of place, and the patty melt had […] Read More

The famous “growth psychologist”: Abraham Maslow is someone who is in huge agreement with me (but he got there first.) He’s the guy who went global with the idea of “self-actualization.” Another guy, Kurt Goldstein, actually came up with the idea. It’s not a very sexy term, but it’s a dazzling goal. Essentially, it’s making […] Read More

Browsing the magazine-swap corner at my local library, I ran across a small treasure that I, a magazine junkie, had never heard of: Brass Magazine. Publishing for five years, it appears to be a financial/inspirational magazine for young people. Mantra: “young today * rich tomorrow.” If it were just about money in conventional numerical terms, […] Read More

Overtly being oneself is a great thing and necessary, I think, for a happy life and having any kind of satisfying success in the world. At the same time, I’d like to think it was possible for all of me to fit in at one place sometimes. With my most high-serious chums, the flip, brash […] Read More

I’ve just discovered a book I’m wildly excited about: Get Known Before the Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform. This addresses what seems to be a Catch-22 for a lot of writers at various career stages: the current need to be semi-famous in your field to help an agent sell […] Read More