Long-distance relationships have been around for a long time. At one time in history separation by ten miles would constitute a long-distance relationship and contact would be done via handwritten letters. Much of the courtship between poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning was conducted via love letters, which are wonderful to read! They fell [read more]
Asking for What You Need – Why You Should and Why It’s Hard
We are born fully programmed to ask for, and receive, what we need. A baby just minutes old will turn its head expectantly, assuming its biological need for sustenance will be met promptly. If it isn’t, the baby cries, and mama puts the little wiggleworm to her breast. Feedback loop complete. Easy, right? Well, yes, [read more]
Thanks, but No Thanks: A Vital Life Skill
Some people find it easy to say no. You know those people? Maybe you are one of those people. But if you are one of the millions of others – those who struggle mightily with that simple word – you may be both envious and awestruck by those who can just say no. For so [read more]
Shifting out of Loneliness: The Nuance of Solitude (Part II)
Human beings are social creatures. Our need to belong is not just a factor of our socialization—it’s encoded in our DNA! As the 17th century poet John Donne wrote so profoundly: “No man is an island / entire of itself.” All of us fall on a continuum of how social we are, depending on how [read more]
What’s So Great about a Great Relationship?
Don’t we all want a great relationship? The partnership so “meant to be” that you can almost hear the “click.” The “she gets me, I get her” kind of relationship. The one with trust and comfort and loyalty, warm fuzzy feelings, mutual cheer-leading, sickness-and-health, devotion, presence—all of it. Maybe you have that now, or had [read more]