Dr. Carolyn Coon

‘Why not’ or ‘Because’ is not always the best response to the question of ‘why’. Besides, how can you respond to the other person when their response to you is why not or because? You have just been effectively stopped short of understanding. Equally important in this is to remember your feelings when someone has […]

Tricky. The problem is that how you see something may not be, probably isn’t, how another person might see the same thing. It’s a matter of our individual perception. And our perception is determine by our frame of reference. And… our frame of reference is determined by our experiences.No two people, even those in the

Actually I should have made the title all caps and then put a dozen or so exclamation marks after the word. We really are an independent/I can do it! creation. It sometimes seems that the younger we are the more we are prone to this behavior – actually age has little to do with it.

Is there a more negative word? It stops all further discussion/activity. Whether it’s a ‘it’ can’t or you can’t or I can’t, a ‘can’t’ completely ends, halts, stops everything. But ‘can’t’ can be a control device to stop you from proceeding. Granted there really are can’ts in the world or at least a strong ‘you

Where are you in your journey to your destiny? How are your dreams shaping your destiny? Perhaps the questions are: do you believe in your destiny? And… do you believe in your dreams? The operative word in both questions is ‘your’. Let’s face it – YOU are the only one who can achieve your destiny

Death is difficult to deal with. Perhaps it’s the finality that makes it difficult or the sense of loss, the pain of separation. There also always seems to be the accompanying emotion of guilt. Regardless of what you have or have not done for the person who died you always feel you haven’t done enough.

Memories…. pleasant? Unhappy? Some memories make you laugh. Some make you cry. But all memories evoke a response, a reaction from you – they are always laden with emotions. That’s not a negative statement… or a positive one, it is a given. Many times they come unbidden – triggered by a song, a smell, some

There is always an undercurrent of excitement that accompanies something new: new home, new job, new… It’s what I call the clean slate promise. At this point, nothing has been written, there’s no predetermination of what will happen – it’s all new. And new, while it can be slightly anxiety ridden, is always exciting. New

I firmly believe in trusting but I also firmly believe in exercising care when you do trust. In a previous discussion on trust I spent most of the time talking about you trusting others and in asking a lot of questions about how you decide whether or not to trust another person. Actually the answers

Trust is an extremely important concept. But it isn’t just theory or a philosophical construct because trust permeates our interactions and colors our relationships. Trust is also a two edged sword – your trust of others, others trust of you. It is not automatically a reciprocal situation. I don’t believe there is anything remotely reciprocal