What associations do you make with the word ‘mindless’?  Chances are, your associations are fairly negative. My brainstorm included; mind numbing, boring, and a chance to tune out. How about the word ‘mindful’? For me, it was quite the opposite. My associations were...

Try this! Can you recall the last face you saw? Think about it for a moment. Can you remember some prominent features? The person’s name?  How about the last plant you saw? Characteristics? Name of the plant? Chances are, you find the latter much more difficult than...

When my eldest son was born, he was my biggest motivation to get outside.  I had always loved the outdoors, but my son absolutely needed it. In those early days, there was no way we could take a car ride without his blood curdling cries of discontent. He was the...

Many of my friends ask for herbal tea after dinner when they come over for a visit. They’re tuned into how caffeinated tea or coffee at night makes it difficult to fall asleep. None of them, however, request that I dim the lights in the kitchen after dark. And, maybe...

More than half of the world’s population currently lives in cities, and it’s projected that over 70% of us will be urban dwellers by 2050.  But, as cities grow, planners and homeowners are probably not focusing enough on the importance of preserving their mature...

Stopping to smell the roses is an important sentiment for modern times. But, for most of our evolution, if you lingered too long, you might have missed the bear lurking behind the rose bush. That’s why our brain is hardwired with something known as the negativity...

Near sightedness (Myopia) is the most common human eye condition and, currently, every third person in the United States needs glasses to correct for it. City dwellers are more likely than their rural counterparts to be impacted. Most dramatically, certain large...