In today’s digital age, personal connection and relationships have arguably been sacrificed on the altar of technological efficiency. Our sensory world, and possibly even our neurological makeup, is being altered by headphone-attached iPods, cell phones, laptops and virtual offices. One in five romantic relationships now begin online and social networks like [click to continue…]
Years ago, I directed the Stress Management Department at the Pain Unit of Boston’s Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. My first mind-blowing exposure to addiction came when a diabetic patient communicated her physician’s warning that if she did not stop smoking, she risked having her legs amputated. Several days thereafter she was discharged from the pain unit. Three months later she returned to the hospital, this time with stubs for legs. Still she continued to smoke [click to continue…]
In our busy lives, we often get caught up in all the details and minutiae. But really, what’s more important than the food we put in our bodies and the bodies of our families?
Supporting local and sustainable food benefits not just us, but also Mother Earth. The basic idea is to transcend marketing labels like “all-natural” and “USDA Organic,” and foster a real, [click to continue…]
While most of us were celebrating the July 4th weekend with friends and family, barbecuing, watching fireworks and ushering in the summer, a teenage girl was brutally murdered. The chilling death of 18-year-old Lauren Astley appears to have been at the hands of her former 18-year-old boyfriend, Nathaniel Fujita. Both teens come from Wayland, Massachusetts, which I often refer to as “Pleasantville”–simply because nothing much seems to happen here. Our little enclave feels like a safe haven from [click to continue…]
My relationship with my father was complex. I sometimes wondered what I would say upon his death. Perhaps I would say nothing or perhaps I would blurt out all those things I never dared to express to him directly. Two weeks ago today my father died unexpectedly. Convoluted and tumultuous feelings continue to swirl through my mind and body–there is an ebb and flow and the occasional tsunami of emotion.
In the end I found it to be both healing and instructive to write some of my thoughts down that I said before my friends and family at his Shiva. I chose to mindfully honor my father and the life he lived. What guided me in my search for the right words [click to continue…]
Photos directly above by Laura Bergstein, all rights reserved; Portrait Photography of Dr.RKG by Janet Wolbarst Photography www.janetwolbarst.com
