Which Path Will You Take in the 2nd Half of Life?

October 20, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

In From Strength to Strength, Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in The Second Half of Life, Arthur C. Brooks discusses the Indian concept known as vanaprastha. It comes from the varnasrama system of Hinduism which splits up our lives into four distinct stages, each happening every 20-25 years—with vanaprastha being the all-important third stage. It works like this: After our youthful first stage, in our early-20s we move to a second stage that lasts until we are about 50 years... Read more

The Importance of Giving Life Your Full Attention

October 12, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

I was almost in a car accident the other day. In a hurry, I was making a right turn into traffic, not realizing that from the other side of the road another car was trying to turn into the same lane. The blare of the other driver’s car horn stopped me just short of impact—and when I caught my breath and realized what had just happened, I blamed myself. Maybe technically I had the right of way. But I had... Read more

5 New Rules for a Happy Life

October 6, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

What is the secret to a happy and successful life? It’s a question I’ve often pondered. Fortunately, over the years, I’ve come across the musings of several wise men and women, who have chosen to put their “rules of life” down on paper (or these days, a word doc) and many offer keen insights. The latest list I uncovered is courtesy of the author Russ Roberts, whose most recent book is Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define... Read more

How to Cope with the Post-Summertime Blues

September 28, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

As a young adult growing up in the Northeast, I used to split the year into two halves. The first glorious half ran from mid-April to mid-October. It was a time of warmish to hot weather, abundant sunshine, swimming in the ocean, drinking cold beers on the beach. The less pleasant other half ran through Fall and Winter and was comprised of shorter, darker days, chilly to numbingly cold weather—and every so often, a case of the blues. I have... Read more

West vs. East: Did We Get Happiness Wrong?

September 22, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

Start Chipping Away. That’s both a chapter heading and advice from Arthur C. Brooks recent book From Strength to Strength, Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life. “Chipping away” is of many compelling ideas forwarded by Brooks, a way to increase happiness as we grow older. Brooks explains that the way we view the world is often dictated by society or more specifically by the cultural norms we live in and may have unconsciously accepted.... Read more

The Feeling We’re Connected to Something Bigger

September 14, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

All my life I’ve experienced a sense of wonder that has to do with something that’s out there but also touches a place within me. It feels as if I’m part of something bigger. Can you relate to this sentiment? The words above are from the American philosopher Jacob Needleman and strike at something that a lot of us in the SBNR (spiritual but not religious) community feel deep within us. It’s the seeming knowledge that something greater than us... Read more

Oprah & Coelho on Finding Your Personal Calling

September 9, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

On the Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations podcast, there’s a conversation in the archives that features two of the leading spirituality figures of our time. The first is Oprah, the famous inspirational talk-show host, and the second is Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, one of the biggest selling spirituality books of our time. Over the course of a fascinating hour-long discussion, Oprah asks Coelho about some of the spiritual principles found in The Alchemist and how to interpret them. The book’s primary... Read more

Achieving Mindfulness with One Simple Step

September 2, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

We all want to live a mindful life, being fully present in each moment. But too often, we are distracted. Rather than being totally tuned in to our surroundings, or the people in front of us, we are often there in body, but not in mind or spirit. For some, this is due to an addiction to our smartphones. The small screen in the palm of our hands steals our attention from the more vital big screen of life. Other... Read more

A Crash Course in the Language of God

August 25, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

From the story of Moses to passages found in the gospels of John and Luke, the Bible is ripe with stories of those claiming to hear the voice of God. Yet today, most of us would be suspicious of anyone who claimed that God had talked to them. We might believe they were lying or mistaken, perhaps even cuckoo. Which got me thinking: Does God still talk to us? If yes, how do we talk to God? If you’re like... Read more

10 True Things You Need to Know

August 18, 2022 By Tom Rapsas

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart is the title of a book by Gordon Livingston, M.D. The headline you see at the top of the page comes from the book’s subtitle, Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now. I stumbled upon Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart on someone’s Top 10 Favorite Books list, and I found the title so compelling, I picked up a copy. Turns out that Livingston was a psychiatrist who lived in Columbia, Maryland. He... Read more