Relationships
February 4, 2020
For most of my professional career I have tried to help people come to terms with loss. The loss of the child they had hoped for and the adaptation to the one they had; the loss of a job that they wanted or had; the loss of a relationship, the […]
February 4, 2020
As some of you are aware, my beloved mother, Sylvia Atkins, died one month ago. A role model to almost everyone who met her, she was loving, inspirational, and lived with an indescribable vibrancy and energy. She had a deep appreciation of life and was curious about everyone she met. […]
December 30, 2019
Many of us think our role in a conversation is to talk. In fact, what most people seem to prefer is to have a conversation partner who is a good listener. We may say too much, repeat ourselves to make a point (when the point is already made), talk about […]
December 2, 2019
We all agree that we expect confidentiality when we share information with healthcare, law, or professionals. There are rigorous ethical standards that guide these relationships and we all expect compliance. Lately, I have been thinking about whether we have similar expectations in our non-professional relationships. When we share personal […]
November 4, 2019
Amanda and I wrote The Kindness Advantage, in part to help families positively address the increase in disrespectful and bullying behavior. Bullying can be physical or emotional and can occur at any stage of our life. Too many of us choose to do nothing when they see or hear […]
August 28, 2019
I am hearing more and more from people who express disappointment with their family or friends. They wonder why their family and friends do not do the things they “should” do (what the person wants and expects). “He should have known how I was feeling”. “She should have called; she […]
August 28, 2019
When I was in college, I found it incredibly relaxing to sit at LaGuardia Airport and watch people coming and going. No kidding. Always the observer, it was a great delight for me. (This was before security prevented anyone who didn’t have a ticket from hanging out at an airport.) […]
July 30, 2019
It happens in life. Someone we know will be fired, go through a divorce, be informed of an illness, receive an indictment, be involved in an accident, or lose someone they love. When this happens likely, they will want to not only tell us but want to talk about it. […]
April 30, 2019
Not long ago I lost a friend. And then another. And then…another. Still shaken by these losses, I was informed that a cousin had died. It was quite a five-day streak. The impact of this news left me so full of fear that I would receive more news of a […]
April 1, 2019
A close friend told me about an experience she had after she worked up the courage to ask someone for an apology for something he had done that had been disrespectful and painful. The event happened years before. She tried to talk to him about it soon after, but he […]