There is no statute of limitations regarding hurt feelings or wounded trust. The bad news is that the pain of unfinished business can continue for years; the good news is that it’s never too late to heal old wounds, even if they happened long ago. Rose was 69 and Harry…

Michael and Jane’s big challenge was one that many couples in second marriages face: blending two families without diminishing the integrity of the marriage. As all too many know from first-hand experience, having to decide whether to prioritize the children of the marriage can be one of the most difficult…

People gifted with wonder tend to be easy to spot. They have a joy that seems to require no data and is not diminished by seeming evidence to the contrary. They look up when that decision seems counterintuitive. They are solution seekers, bright side-finders, dream-stokers, and defiant dancers. The world…

Linda: For many people, the word “dependent” conjures up negative associations with being helpless, powerless, and out of control. Our hyper-independent culture influences many to fear and dread relying on another person. However, the dictionary definition is a neutral one. The word “dependent” is defined as relying on someone or…

Linda: A psychological study done in Germany during the 1980’s found that the men who kissed their wives before going to work in the morning lived an average of five years longer than husbands who didn’t kiss. Dr. Arthur Szabo, professor of psychology at the University of Kiel, collected data…

Linda: Disclosure invites disclosure. There is no way to force someone to talk about himself or herself. We can only invite by taking risks ourselves. Enjoying the transparency of another is earned by building the trust to the point where the other knows that their revelations will be treated with…

“A hallmark of a healthy creative culture is that its people feel free to share ideas, opinions, and criticisms. Lack of candor, if unchecked, ultimately leads to dysfunctional environments.” — Ed Catmull, Creativity, Inc. Reveal, don’t conceal; express, don’t repress; accept, don’t reject; connect, don’t protect; open, don’t close. These…

Linda: Some of us got off to a rough start in life. And for many of us, our childhood was missing the kinds of experiences that every child needs in order to thrive. Consequently, chances are, we didn’t make it to adulthood with a very high estimation of our value…

As a little girl, I witnessed and experienced the pain caused by uncontrolled anger and I adopted a strategy of compliance to protect myself from others’ intense reactions. I knew that whenever feelings got too heated, someone was likely to get hurt, and it might be me. So I tried…