Independence Day Every Day: Choose Freely and Responsibly

July 5, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

This post reflects upon the importance of not taking our independence as humans for granted. Independence entails choosing freely and taking responsibility for our actions, thereby affirming our dignity. When we do so, every day is Independence Day. Growing in Conscious Awareness of the Freedom to Choose My daughter Julianne and I cherished the opportunity to sit outside in the shade with Christopher at his care facility on the Fourth of July. Christopher is my son and Julianne’s older brother.... Read more

When Superlatives Fall Short: A Father’s Day Remembrance

June 16, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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This post is about the importance of fostering and cherishing good, better, best, and “bestest” memories of fatherhood and parenting. In my granddaughter’s experience, superlatives fall short in remembrance of her daddy on Father’s Day. Stimulating the Brain with Exceptionally Superlative Goodness Recently, I was with my son Christopher at his adult care facility. I called to speak to his daughter Jaylah and asked if she could talk to her daddy. Jaylah got on the phone. She immediately said to... Read more

Stimulate Your Brain and Soul with Good Medicine and Music

June 4, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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This post is about our family journey with TBI and how important it is to stimulate your brain and soul with good medicine and music. Trial Medications and Trials Friday was a good day. My adult son Christopher received the first dose of a trial medication a doctor prescribed to stimulate his brain. Within fifteen to twenty minutes, he started showing signs of responsiveness. This continued on and off for some time. Christopher started off by suddenly moving both hands... Read more

Memorial Day & Cultivating Your Daily Rhythm of Remembrance

May 27, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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This post builds on the annual rhythm of Memorial Day to consider the import of cultivating a daily rhythm of remembrance in honor of those who have sacrificed so much for your life. Memorial Day and the Annual Rhythm of American National Life Memorial Day is part of my country’s liturgy. It is a key aspect of the annual rhythm of American national life. The intent is to remember and honor members of the US military who died while serving... Read more

Pentecost Season: Ordering Your Life for Maximum Growth

May 22, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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This post reflects upon the import of Pentecost season for ordering your and my everyday life for maximum growth. Fear of the Holy Ghost in Our Secular Age I remember tucking my daughter Julianne into bed one night when she was a little girl. She asked me to protect her from the Holy Ghost. No doubt mention of the Holy Spirit in my good night prayers conjured up all kinds of scary notions of ghosts. No doubt, my daughter wasn’t... Read more

A Mother’s Day Search for Secure Attachment in a Secular Age

May 12, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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This post pays tribute to mothers on Mother’s Day and the importance of secure attachment for all of us in a secular age. The Grinch and his Mother’s Deep Affection I was watching Dr. Seuss’s 1982 classic, The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat with my granddaughter Jaylah yesterday afternoon. Like a master psychologist, the Cat in the Hat discerns that the only thing that will change the Grinch’s nasty disposition is to reawaken the Grinch’s mother’s loving memory.... Read more

Learning to Let It Go: The Fine Art of Renunciation

May 6, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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This entry focuses on the importance of learning to let it go and not fixate on the fruit of one’s action in life. If you are anything like me, it will take a lifetime to learn the fine art of renunciation. Elsa learns to let it go. My granddaughter Jaylah tells me with a cheeky smile on her face that I am a “horrible Elsa singer.” She loves to sing “Let It Go” from Frozen with her karaoke microphone system.... Read more

Smirk in Defiance of Misfortune. Have the Last Laugh.

April 29, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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This post is about the inspiration and strength I draw from my adult son’s defiance of misfortune resulting from his traumatic brain injury. The smirk on his face at momentous times tells me that somehow, in some way, he will have the last laugh. How do we respond to misfortune in our lives? Do we allow it to conquer us, or will we gain strength with the help of others to prevail? I don’t know how often guardian archangels tickle... Read more

Bear Up, Don’t Give Up, in the Face of Adversity

April 21, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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It is vital that we bear up rather than give up in the face of adversity. How do we go about doing it? No doubt, there are many ways to grow in bearing up. Here are three: cultivating a deep sense of secure attachment with God and others; developing strategies for successful adaptation amid challenges like depression and anxiety; and growing in approaching life by way of creative maladjustment. This post reflects briefly upon all three. This subject matter is... Read more

You Matter More Than Images You Project

April 13, 2024 By Paul Louis Metzger

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Did you know that you matter more than things, including the images you project? Sometimes it is very difficult to keep this point in mind in a society where all that appears to matter is what the market values. The market values certain images we project and masks we wear. In what follows, I will call for valuing persons over personas, masks, or images. Michael Sandel, Jonathan Sacks, Barbara Johnson, and Martin Luther King, Jr. encourage and exhort us to... Read more