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

“Mozart said, ‘I like the notes that like each other,’” observed Paul McCartney in a great series on Hulu with producer Rick Rubin where he talks about his songwriting, Paul’s point was in his career he’s tried to do that same. To put things together that like each other – melodies, lyrics, rhythms. Of course,…

“Think through something, not about,” challenges essayist James Wood. His point is it’s easy to talk about someone, a book, or an idea, but it’s entirely different to think through what makes someone who they are; to avoid criticizing a book before thinking through all the characters and themes portrayed; or to assess an idea…

“When you’re happy,” noted musician, songwriter, and author Patti Smith during a commencement address at the Pratt Institute, “you ignite that little flame that tells you and reminds you who you are.” It’s fascinating to consider the idea that happiness reveals and reminds us of our true selves and identity. What kind of person are…

I was watching Stanley Tucci’s travel show in Italy and was taught how there is a peak time to pick basil – when it’s six inches high. You shouldn’t pick it an inch shorter or taller. If you think about it, that’s how basil appears in grocery stores. Which led me to consider how every…

“You put the right artist on the right track in the studio and leave the door open,” said Jay-Z, “to let God in.” We visited the Jay-Z exhibit at the Brooklyn Library and he said those words while filming a documentary about making a new album. Jay-Z is a rapper, won 24 Grammys, is a…

It was one of those street interviews you find on Reels and they asked an older man – 5’9, 165 pounds, short hair and glasses, carrying a yoga mat- how he stayed so fit. He answered he did yoga 4 times a week, read  on a bike for 60 minutes, and then did two extra workouts…