Featured Articles
On Our Best Days
by Nancy Gertz
Liv Fun: Vol 6 – Issue 3
Bookshelves are lined with thousands of years of spirited inquiry about how human beings thrive — as men and as women, as patients, parents, adult children, young people, seniors, foreigners, minorities, leaders, laborers, professionals, activists and change agents. It’s as if we’ve all been looking — for centuries — for the magic manual for how to be happy. Aristotle and Plato tried their pens at this quest, and many do the same today.
“Who am I really?”
“What am I doing here?”
“How can I be happy?”
And, for many whose lives have shifted due to illness, frailty, caregiving demands, and other heavy burdens of life, “How can I possibly enjoy my life now, with all I’ve lost and am longing for?”
Is being happy the holy grail of human experience? Many of our spiritual traditions suggest that we are more likely to thrive when we live meaningful lives; happiness shows up in sparks and memorable moments, but it isn’t a steady state or something we can attain and sustain. In fact, modern researchers tell us that actively searching for happiness decreases our chances of actually achieving it. (Anderson, Mauss, Savino and Tamir, 2011)
Instead of asking, “How can I be happy?” maybe it’s time to ask, “How do I want to invest my life energy each day?” After all, we have less energy available to us as we age, making it more precious every day. Perhaps spending it more wisely is the key to fulfillment.
Liv Fun
by Leisure Care
Autumn 2017
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When I Grow Up
by Jessica McCurdy Crooks
Dreams and visions of our future are an important part of growing and learning. And, like so much else, they tend to change during the different phases of our lives. It is important to have a roadmap of how we want our lives to progress, but we also need to bear in mind that roadblocks will occur along the way.
From My Pocket a Pebble
by Pam Mandel
The headstones here sing of wealth and pride, some of them are family sanctuaries, the black granite stamped deep with names of families that are gone now. There is no one here to clear the vines away, to place the pebble that signifies a visit. The deer bolt, and I go back to reading the names out loud.
On Our Best Days
by Nancy GertzIs being happy the holy grail of human experience? Many of our spiritual traditions suggest that we are more likely to thrive when we live meaningful lives; happiness shows up in sparks and memorable moments, but it isn’t a steady state or something we can attain and sustain. In fact, modern researchers tell us that actively searching for happiness decreases our chances of actually achieving it.