There’s something about the wind in your face and the sparkling blanket of the ocean spread before you that touches the ancient seafarer in all of us.
Healthy Habits Update: Sleep
A few weeks ago, I posted about finding joy and happiness through healthy habits. I said that a healthy body leads to a healthier, happier mind…and I stand by that. But…well, I blithely said that I would start by improving my sleep habits and signed off. It hasn’t been that easy. Not even close. Turns…
The Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece | Greece
I picked up The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece by Nigel Rodgers on a whim. I thought, “Hm, this might be nice to thumb through.” Did I thumb through it? No. I read it, and it was quite the endeavor. Overview: This book starts with the Minoans and Mycenaeans, the precursors to the Greeks, and works…
The Republic | Greece
When it came to picking a Greek classic for my month of Greece, I was inundated with choice, except I’ve already read most of the big ones: The Iliad, The Odyssey, Euripides, Sophocles…check, check, check check. And I didn’t want to read Herodotus’ Histories. So Plato’s Republic it was. I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t easy to get through….
Depression: My Journey
Not long ago someone messaged me about their depression, and it got me thinking about the public perception of depression. Mental illness in all its forms is something of a societal embarrassment. It’s something that people look at with discomfort; it’s often considered a weakness. Thankfully, there’s more awareness than ever now, but that doesn’t…
The Joys of Nature
Today, These Running Shoes of Mine and Choose Joy are teaming up to bring you…the joys of nature. It all started last week when I was reading Anne Frank’s diary. I noticed that she had a lot of wisdom about life, but she had some especially interesting thoughts about finding happiness in nature: “The best…
The Diary of a Young Girl | WWII
This book defines the human spirit and its ability to find joy in adversity and goodness in people, even after everything it suffers.
Finding Joy Through Healthy Habits
I want to start out by admitting that not all my habits are healthy. They’re not awful, so don’t go thinking that my history of depression (have I mentioned my history of depression yet?—Surprise!) has something to do with bad health, but they’re not as awesome as they could be. I run every day, try…
Sarah’s Key | WWII
When I first saw the short description for Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, I thought it would be a cute book for young readers (well, as cute as Jewish victims during WWII can possibly be)…but oh, I was so wrong. It was a good book, but I wouldn’t say cute. More like tumultuous. Overview:…
Grieving for a Relationship
I’ve spent the last year or so being angry and devastated in turn. Mostly, long periods of joy, happiness, and contentment have been interspersed with these darker moments, and it didn’t make much sense. For the longest time, I blamed myself. Surely these unruly emotions were a personal failing, something lacking in me… It took…
The Secret War | WWII
Success was not due just to bigger navies or faster planes or better soldiers; it was due as well to the intelligence gathered by secret warriors.
These Running Shoes of Mine…on Jordan River Parkway, Murray
This week I went to the Jordan River Parkway. It’s close, convenient, and long. You can pretty much park anywhere along it and be guaranteed a new running experience. I went to the Murray section. Again, because of the closeness (I’m lazy). But if you’re in Salt Lake and you need a little nature getaway…
Tyger Tyger 