My relationship with my Mother was complicated, filled with heartbreak, disappointments, violations, and Love. She died when I was 27. She died riddled with cancer, abjectly disappointed with life, and ostensibly alone. It didn’t start out that way, but that’s the way it ended. It has taken me years to reconcile my relationship with my…
There is no redeeming value to suffering. Discomfort yes, but suffering, No. A good deal of suffering comes from indecisiveness. Straddling two sides of a conflict. Vacillating back and forth, looking for signs on which way to go. The signs are always there, it’s that we are either choose to ignore them or are constantly reinterpreting…
It’s graduation time and ceremonies and protocols are dramatically different. As difficult as that is, there is always a silver lining. This time boasts a chance to adapt. A chance to go inward about what the accomplishments have been.To have more of a thoughtful time to look at what’s next, unencumbered by the pull of “June Fever”. The highs…
As mothers and fathers, all we want to do is keep our children safe. We are always children to someone, regardless of how old we are. George Floyd’s last word was “Mama”, in hopes that the person who gave him life could save his life. This is heartbreaking on so many levels. Our hearts go out to…
Even though the summer Teals are just weeks away, and even though the LA sky is a Tiffany blue; we are more in the throws of darker reds and muted browns. We are in the shadows of sobriety.This is not a time of summer highs or surging possibilities.It is a disturbing time because it is a…
If love is the ability to cry publicly, laugh uncontrollably, and have your heart broken consistently – then I am filled with love. I am experiencing all three of those phenomena on a daily basis, maybe on a moment by moment basis. It feels like some sort of nervous breakdown or at the very least,…
Have the same philosophical/moral sensibilities—The way you look at life, how you raise your children, common goals, etc., are the foundation. You can be different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds but the sensibilities must be in common. Like building a house, it’s the foundation that anchors the house and weathers the heat and the rain. The…
A former technology startup executive, Courtney Nichols Gould, 45, reconnected with an old acquaintance to start a business. She wasn’t expecting romance, too. The co-CEO of Marina Del Rey, California-based SmartyPants describes how it grew from its tumultuous start to its current success, raising $4.8 million through crowdfunding site CircleUp and hitting nearly $5 million…
Imagine you are carrying around a faux Prada bag you bought for six dollars in Chinatown. It looks real. It feels real. But how long can you keep convincing yourself that it is? Relationships all too often work the same way. Eventually, the fake label falls off, the seams bust, the handles break. The quality…