Conflict is normal in relationships, and perfect compatibility only happens in fairytales. But knowing how to fight fair can lead us to a happy ending. The first requirement is a supportive environment. So we need to make two agreements right up front. First, that a […]
All posts tagged: communications
There’s Power In Our Perceptions
As a single parent of three sons, the license plate on my car read BOYSNI, because most of my statements seemed to begin with, “The boys ’n I….” But after seven years, my girlfriend said to me, “Grace, if you don’t lose that license plate, […]
Karma Is Friendlier Than It Sounds
The popularized concept of karma is that it’s cosmic payback for doing something wrong. But really, it’s the process of setting a cause in motion and experiencing the effect. So how can we identify karma in our daily lives? Here’s a fail-proof test: If something […]
How To Stay Calm When Everyone’s Losing It
On a visit to Taormina on Sicily, our hotel was situated so that we could stand on our balcony and see Mount Etna in the distance. I told my husband how great it was that the locals had strung colored lights down the mountainside. Ron […]
Every Argument Begins With The Second Sentence
There’s a bizarre thing about parenting. We’re doing the best we can, while at the same time we have an inkling that our kids may need therapy later. We try to get it all right, but it’s not likely that our kids will get through […]
Cross My Heart And Hope To Die!
When my stepdaughter was ten, she walked into a local restaurant and asked the Greek owner if he would sell her an over-sized wooden rosary that he’d brought from his homeland and hung behind the sales register. She knew I’d seen it and liked it, […]
Real Love Is Like A Marathon
My daughter-in-law qualified for the Boston Marathon by running in a local marathon, just making it by an amazing three seconds! She was really hurting the last five miles. A stranger saw her and began to walk-run alongside her, subtly encouraging her. She could hardly […]
48 Hours That Will Transform Your Relationship
One of my friends keeps talking about leaving his wife. The two of them are great together when they’re good. But they stink when they’re bad, because each of them makes it all about the other. In a recent article on the five stages of […]
Making Things Happen
When I became a single parent, my three sons and I moved into a temporary rental that turned out to be infested with mice. And everyone involved told me that there was no way to get rid of them, because everything had been tried. It […]
Who’s Dominating Your Encounters?
Whatever we focus on expands for us, because we feed it with our attention. So whether we’re thinking and talking about what we want, or what we don’t want, it will get bigger. It’s as if we’re watering seeds and giving them life. One of […]
Who’s Training Your Expectation?
People comprise endless possibilities. And whatever we see in them is a reflection of what’s active in us concerning them. So it helps to understand where we’re coming from, in our behavior toward others. Are we reacting from autopilot, based on expectations people have trained […]
