Recently, local and state elections were held in Kansas City. I like to read about national and international politics, but the real work happens close to home.
I am deeply concerned about the direction our country is taking, and I often think about what I can do about it. One thing I can do for sure is to vote.
After Athenian tyrants were overthrown in 508/507 BCE, Cleisthenes introduced the political system “demokratia” (rule by the people). Hence, democracy was born. Athenian democracy evolved and lasted 170 years until King Phillip II of Macedonia (Alexander the Great’s father) conquered Greece in 338 BC.
Lately, I’ve been hearing about elder poverty. It’s not so bad being poor when you’re young, but not great when you’re old. Aches and pains, family problems, and life history are plenty to deal with when you’re up there in age. Poverty makes these struggles dire.
When I started my psychotherapy practice and during my previous profession as a librarian, I did as many presentations as I could. Now, since my practice is established, I no longer do this. It takes a lot of time and practice to prepare a presentation! But I would like to share some valuable tips I picked up along the way that helped me when giving presentations.
Relationships can be challenging. Family relationships can be very challenging. Over the period of a lifetime, childhood jealousies and hurtful interactions can accumulate and simmer. They can create estrangement.
Most of us do not want to face preparing for the end of our lives. It is a grueling task, and many of us just leave it to others to manage.
One of the greatest remedies for depression is gratitude. Usually, when we are depressed, we’re looking inwards. We may be stuck in a pity pot, feeling sorry for ourselves.
In the classic film “Tombstome,” Wyatt Earp asks why Ringo behaves the way he does. Doc Holliday responds, “A man like Ringo had a great empty hole right through the middle of him. He can never kill enough, steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.” Ringo was a sociopath.
Many of us experience depression.
In Martha Stout’s Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door, she describes in detail the strategies used by sociopaths to manipulate nice people when their callous and sometimes criminal behavior is challenged.