https://www.happyherald.com/articles.sec-8507-1-on-the-bright-side.html Remember the days when discussing religion and politics, or your annual salary, or cost of your house was considered taboo? I long for those days. People keeping their opinions to themselves and going into the voting booth not telling a single person whom they selected. ]]> Not only is it Women’s History Month, but it’s also an election year. Did you know there have been 16 women who have run for President? ]]> I’ve been looking at the bright side my whole life, but most publicly for the last 20 years in our happy little newspaper. I was stunned. And – if I’m being honest – annoyed. The audacity!]]> • Exercise more. • Eat healthier. • Lose weight. • Quit smoking and/or reduce alcohol intake. • Learn something new.]]> It begins, of course, with a dream. I am referring to our daydreams - those we imagine in our waking hours. I don’t know about you, but if my sleeping dreams came to life, I’d be living in a strange world!]]> November ushers in a season of reflection and thanksgiving. Rooted in tradition, this month beckons us to embrace gratitude as more than a mere sentiment – it is a transformative attitude that shapes our lives and communities. ]]> I’ve always fondly referred to my closet as my “Room of My Own,” and my copy of Virginia Woolf’s book is front and center on one of the shelves.]]> Cat behavior is a mystery, even to the skilled and experienced, but one thing is for sure: they know their Zen zone. ]]> We are all familiar with the story of Pandora’s Box. Even if you don’t know the entire ancient Greek parable, you likely know it means the start of many negative events about to occur.]]> Summer is a great time to look at the bright side. Especially when those big heavy storms roll in. I equate that ominous time in the late afternoon, when the black clouds roll in and the sky lights up with electricity with being up north in the winter during a snowstorm.]]> People are asking that a lot lately, and unfortunately, the answer just seems to be, “It’s their fault.”]]> Practicing gratitude helps reduce stress and anxiety. Research has even shown that expressing gratitude activates the part of the brain associated with positive emotions.]]> In his book “A Gentleman in Moscow,” Amor Towels presents the bright side of the unprecedented societal upheaval wrought by the Bolsheviks in the early 20th century and the years that followed under the iron fist of Joseph Stalin over the next 30 years.]]> March is Women’s History Month. Each year the National Women’s History Alliance selects a theme. Last year’s theme was “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” This year the theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” ]]> I’ve been looking at the bright side my whole life, but most publicly for the last 20 years in our happy little newspaper. I was stunned. And – if I’m being honest – annoyed.]]> In today’s political climate, people of all stripes are amped up over just about everything. It’s difficult to pinpoint why divisive politics take hold in certain eras and why others seem less so, but if you dig deep and read about the political climate in any era in our history, our democratic system has inspired and survived divisiveness again and again. ]]> Watching a sunset is like switching the meditation button on. You just sit and watch and wait. It is automatically inspiring. Here on the east coast, we are invited to reflect as the sun rises. Rather than contemplating the events at the day’s end, we can think about what we want to do with the new day we’re given.]]> Perhaps it’s because, since I was three, I heard women. I heard them roaring. In numbers “too big to ignore” (thanks, Helen Reddy). Perhaps due to the time of my youth, I always assumed that the “moral arc,” though long, bent “toward justice” (Martin Luther King, Jr.) For most of my life, achieving justice for all seemed to be the norm]]> We are living midbirth of a new era and no one has the answers. In uncertain times, there is a tendency to look back to see what worked before, or at least for some guidance on how not to repeat the same mistakes. And when we don’t learn, history does repeat itself.]]> “Yet” is a powerful word. Especially tacked onto the end of any thought or statement that expresses doubt, or worse announces a foregone negative conclusion. For example: “I can’t write this novel.” “I can’t quit my job.” “I haven’t lost 20 pounds.”]]>