a daily blog on well-being and how to feel better by Mark Barger Elliott…

Author and monk Thomas Merton once made the observation that, “the meaning of our life… has to be revealed to us in love.” Love reveals direction, truth, and purpose. Love encourages, guides and celebrates. If we are looking for meaning in our life, it is love that will show and reveal the way. ——

Hans Kung was a priest and author who shaped people’s faith in the 20th century. In Does God Exist? he makes a fascinating point about nurturing what he called, “enlightened trust.” “Believing in the Creator of the world means affirming in enlightened trust that the world and man do not remain inexplicable in their ultimate…

Victor Frankel was a neurologist, psychologist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor. He had an operational definition of God. He said it was as follows: “God is the partner of your most intimate soliloquies.” When we engage in our deepest reflections, and express our most honest thoughts to ourselves, it is fascinating to consider at such moments…

We all know it’s true, but it’s never a question if we’re ready to do something, because we’ll inevitably find a distraction, or an excuse, to put something off for fifteen minutes, a day, or years. Life is more often shaped by statements rather than questions. A statement like let’s do this now will propel…

David Lynch, a movie director and author I admired, died two days ago. A saying of his I always appreciated was, “Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.” What is your donut? What is your hole? Having answers to both those questions is extraordinarily helpful. ——

I started to read the book Dune this week. Perhaps you have seen the movies. The author Frank Herbert creates a religious group called the Bene Gesserit and fans of the book know they have a famous approach to fear. They use and say these words: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear…