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

Rumi is a beloved 13th century writer and last night someone shared his poem that suggested life is like a “guest house where every morning there is a new arrival.” Some of these guests might be, as Rumi observed, “a joy, a depression, a meanness, [or] some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.” Our…

Peter Schjeldahl was the New Yorker art critic from 1998-2022. He once made the observation what separates extraordinary from ordinary people is “a minimum of moving parts.”  Writing about Picasso, Schjeldahl said, “People make the mistake of supposing that genius is complicated. It is the opposite. We regular folk are complicated—tied in knots of ambivalence…

I’m been enjoying The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban by John Talty. Saban recently retired as Alabama’s football coach and one of the most successful of all time. Addressing the importance of motivating players in Saban’s approach, Talty describes how “[Saban] connected with sports psychologist Dr. Kevin Elko… after hearing him talk about hockey star…

I watched two men walk towards two kinds of doors in order to exit a department store – turnstile doors or one with hinges. Each was clear in their decision and had no hesitation. One slowed his gait and entered the turnstile door and the other barely broke his stride and went through the hinge door.…

I came across a social media post which offered these words, “You can’t heal in the same environment that made you sick.”  Meaning, we can’t heal – emotionally, physically, spiritually – if we stay in a work situation, relationship, community, etc., which has affected our health in a negative way. Today, Lynn is recording a…

It is a wonderful gift when you are able to creatively identify a solution where everyone feels good about the decision. An example of this occurred last night when I was ordering a steak and the server said, “how would you like it?” I answered, “I usually order medium. I know I should say medium…