Mental Health

“Drowned out by the noise of entitlement, joy hasn’t a chance.”By Bob MuellerI have often heard people make the following remarks:“Why do I seldom feel joyful?”“Something always nags at feeling joyful. I wonder ‘what next?’ or ‘maybe it won’t last.’”“I know about pleasure, but I don’t think I’ve felt pure joy.”“It’s like I always expect something more.”“I’m always disappointed in the end.”These laments give me an opening:“Why do you think that joy is such a rare experience?”“What gets in the way of a full heart?”The problem is we are never satisfied. We are never thankful [...]

By Bob Mueller “When you learn to feel lovingly connected on the inside, you’ll find it much easier to forge a bond with others.”Something wonderful has happened to me. I think it’s a combination of my age, my ministry, my writing, and my work with hospice. Every day I receive a large volume of email feedback through my websites. And every day I receive phone calls and voicemails. Due to the large volume of personal information I’ve shared, many consider me a close friend because they know so much about me, so they write to [...]

By Bob MuellerOver 2,500 years ago, the philosopher Heraclitus dipped his toes into a river in Greece and instantly understood that change itself is the one unchanging reality. Everything is in flux. Change is the source of life, the one thing you can trust. He realized that he could never, as hard as he might try or as much as he might like, step into the same river again. Change is here to stay. The moment when you read this word is now gone. The case for flexibility is made. If life is moving, I’d [...]

By Carrie VittitoeWhile on a trip to visit her husband Matt’s family, Kelley Hudzik found herself in a Massachusetts craft shop, dropping about $100 on beads and wire. Kelley’s sister-in-law, Kristine, had taught her how to make beaded bracelets. “It was like nirvana in front of me with all those beads,” Kelley says.Kelley began developing her own design style as she continued learning the basics of bracelet making. She says her sister-in-law is very structured in how she uses patterns, but Kelley’s aesthetic is different. “It’s all over the place,” she says. Kelley relies on [...]

By Carrie Vittitoe Gretchen Wilkins of LaGrange, Kentucky, isn’t technically a superhero, but that is how I imagine her. She spends her days as an information analyst for a local company that makes software for warehouse management, which seems very professional and Clark Kent-like. During her downtime, though, she flies, she spins, and she twirls. For the past 2½ years, Gretchen has been training at Louisville Turners, where she hangs from aerial silks and hoops (lyra) in two hour-long weekly classes. She says, “It’s not a workout where you’re clock-watching because you are learning new [...]

By Bob Mueller Do you hold back from volunteering because you believe your help will not be enough — just a drop in the bucket? I like the example of Mother Teresa, who committed one small voluntary act of kindness, then another, and then another. Ordinary acts of service accumulate into an inspiring, indelible, and loving declaration about the power of helping one another.The word volunteer originally came from an ancient Latin word, voluntarius, meaning “voluntary.” To volunteer, then, is to exercise our free choice on behalf of others. The act of volunteering influences how we [...]