And why sometimes we’re more unclear than others — Sometimes writing is like trying to describe a sight when your eyes are closed. If you’re not in the thick of an emotion or experience, your writing may not be able to capture the nuances of what you’re saying. What to do? Sure, you could open your eyes — immerse…

You can’t have a conversation through a closed door — In the course of everyday life, people shy away from talking about their own or other people’s mental health concerns. It’s an uncomfortable topic, and no one knows what to say or leave unsaid about it. But is this silence doing both people in the conversation a disservice? I’d say…

For when nothing but the best grousing will do — Imagine you are a sultan who is well-loved by his people and very well endowed financially. All your subjects bring you barrels and carts and crates full of every offering of the land: every sweet fruit, every sour fruit, every herb and every vegetable. Now imagine if your response to…

‘It shouldn’t woik, I tells ya!’ — Consider this opinion of the prolific writer Stephen King: Look — here’s a table covered with a red cloth. On it is a cage the size of a small fish aquarium. In the cage is a white rabbit with a pink nose and pink-rimmed eyes. In its front paws is…

There are two key ideas which will help tremendously. — You’re a mean little punk. Not to everyone else, but to you. “How could you be so stupid?” you ask yourself. “They’ll never forgive you,” you threaten. “You’re a bad person,” you finally conclude. And you’re off to the races. Every one of us can generate millions, perhaps hundreds of…

Is there too much of a good thing? — It can happen to the best of us. You start out by being uber-organized. To-do lists, planners, calendars: check. Then you start to notice that you never finish those to-do lists, you have multiple planners, and you’re scheduling yourself in 15-minute increments. What happened? Well, life. But what else happened? …

The dead giveaways that reveal the truth — Stephen Schwartz wrote in Pippin: “If you take it easy Trust a while Don’t look blue Don’t look back You’ll pull through In just a while ’Cause you’re on The right track.” Because of this song, the image of being on the right track is one of my favorites to…

You may be surprised at the answer — I’m reminded of Marvin the Paranoid Android, from Douglas Adams’ ever-expanding trilogy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “Here I am, brain the size of a planet,” he would start his long melodramatic complaints. Once he was left alone for an interminable amount of time. “The first ten million years…