Dr. Carolyn Coon

  What impresses you? What stays with you long after the person, event, or ‘thing’ has passed? And when you remember, what ‘trigger’ brought it to mind? I think this is a good operational definition of ‘impressive’ – remembering over time. But what’s more important is the context and content of the memory, what impressed […]

  Is it? Can you say that regardless of your situation… it is well with your soul? For me, this is a ‘sometimes, yes’ and ‘sometimes, no’ response. Not always strong… but I do know that when I’m not, if I want me to be ‘well’ there’s a simple way to get there. And no,

  Do you remember the song from “The King and I” that Anna sings to the children? “Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you. Hoping that you like me too.” Is this a focus, concern, interest for you? Have you taking the time to get to know… You!

  I remember a time early in my college ‘career’ when I came to the conclusion that these were two incredibly important concepts, at least for me. In many ways I think they have directed me throughout my life, at least I hope so. I also remember a banner I made for my college room

  Right – Wrong? Yes – No? Good – Bad?  A blend of diametrically opposed opposites? Is everything relative? Is there NO standard? Is the whole world ‘wrong’ in this view or is it only me? I find the shifting sands of definitions extremely taxing. And I don’t even want to think about ‘political correctness’.

  How do you view your role and responsibility in life – one who is a caretaker of those ‘things’, relationships, people, etc. in your life or as the owner of them? Your interpretation of who you are determines absolutely everything because it forms the foundation of your mindset, your frame of reference. Webster defines

  From where you are, looking back, do you see how you got to where you are? I suspect the most important question is – is where you are where you want to be? If not, then knowing how you got to where you are is critical because you certainly don’t want to repeat (fill

  Are you? I’m not talking about racism or prejudice, I’m talking about you – how and who you are, all your bits and bobs. Are you a series of ‘parts’ or are you complete? Do you do what you do, when you do it, with the same standard? Perhaps a definition will give us

  Heard that one before? I suspect we all have. It can come across like a placebo during times of stress or disaster or whatever negative event occurred that you are facing or that you’ve just come through. I think it’s meant to be an encouragement, to help us look to the future rather than

  The encouragement, almost urgent, that I tend to express in my writing is that we all need to be actively engaged in living our life – a theme which I often return. Recently I was reading one of my favorite authors and she wrote, “…the responsibility for living a life.” (Jacqueline Winspear) I probably