Jennifer GobleI seldom travel without visiting local libraries, and last week in Omaha was no exception. The W. Dale Clark Library wasn’t architecturally spectacular, not like the one in Nashville, Boston, or NYC. Still, it was bright, spacious and clean, had comfy sitting places, and, most importantly, had kind and helpful staff. Unlike an overwhelming bookstore, libraries … [Read more...]
Newspaper Column, "Mental Matters" published each Wednesday in the South Platte Sentinel Health Section
Don’t expect the ridiculous
Jennifer GobleToday, Jan. 15, is National hat, strawberry ice cream, and bagel day. Isn’t it nice creative individuals designated celebrations for the middle of this long slow month? Christmas Hallmark movies still entertain and help me escape reality, and show numerous lovestruck men on one knee presenting little hinged boxes holding sparkling dreams. We also had a grandson’s … [Read more...]
Leave the undesirables behind
We are lucky. We have lived long enough to start a new decade. I don’t know about you, but if I count the decade I was born, 2020 is the beginning of my ninth decade? What? I better start living faster. According to Professor Google, these next ten years will be a time of freedom and technological advancement. It will also gift us 5,256,000 minutes to maximize or waste. If you … [Read more...]
Make peace with regrets
Jennifer GobleAs 2020 begins, let’s do something different. Instead of resolutions, why don’t we face and make peace with regrets? Regrets are current situations which you perceive could be happier if you would have done something differently. We blame today’s problems or unhappiness on something we did or didn’t do in the past. For example, not walking away from an abusive … [Read more...]
Take time OFF
Jennifer GobleIt’s the day after Christmas. This article is for those of you who gave and did so much over the holidays. I’m talking to the over-achieving Santa Clauses and elves. I’m not a biblical scholar, so I don’t know what Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus did while staying in the stable. I would guess they kicked back and relaxed after the donkey trip, birthing a baby, and … [Read more...]
Help is just down the street
Jennifer GobleThe holiday season from Thanksgiving through New Years is often fun. It flows with family gatherings, social happenings, and wonderment. But for many, it is a time of loneliness, anxiety, sadness, and self-doubt. The culprit could be financial pressure, commitments, unrealistic expectations, fatigue, stress, or inability to be, or not to be, with one’s family and … [Read more...]
Do less and enjoy more
We are two weeks from Christmas day. For me, (not referring to faith elements) Dec. 25, is the day balloons begin to deflate. Parties are over, gifts exchanged, tummies overflowing, and I’m exhausted. What is usually on my mind is cleaning up the mess and restoring life to normalcy. Christmas day brings a long whew at the end of a job well done. I’ve been told by many, visions … [Read more...]
I hope you sense YOUR value
Jennifer GobleShero is a word I don’t see often. It refers to females admired for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. It reminds me of the RFD-TV show called FarmHer. The show focuses on women in agriculture and captures the stories of women and their connection to the land. Whether the word is hero, shero, farmer of farmher, I think about men and women I … [Read more...]
Thankfulness extends beyond obvious
Jennifer GobleAs I sit at my computer to write this week’s article on the topic of Thanksgiving, I am eating a Sees chocolate – it is a white Apple Pie Truffle. It is delicious, and I am thankful. Yum! I am grateful for the sweet, smooth, decadent filling plus the beautifully dipped chocolate melting on my tongue. I am thankful for the anticipation of pure delight as the … [Read more...]
Spark your creativity
I dedicated this past week to be creative. I dug out pencils, watercolors, acrylics, brushes, erasers, paper, and three old chairs. For weeks, I planned in my head and on paper how I wanted to decorate the chairs. I bought the chairs months ago, and on Sunday morning, when I laid a bed sheet on the living room floor for paint splatter, I knew I was ready. It was time. I moved … [Read more...]
Who am I?
Jennifer GobleI am an extroverted sensor, meaning I get my energy and information from the external versus the internal world. In other words, I notice things. This week was no exception. Something on TV asked, “What books do you have and use most in your home: A Bible, cookbook, or dictionary?” There was a feature on CBS Sunday Morning about a three-generation family who lost … [Read more...]
Learn to grow through loss
Loss, at varying levels, is prevalent in every person’s life. There is no elitism or prejudice in the world of loss; it attacks everyone. Loss involves not only death, but illness, jobs, financial security, relationships, home, personal belongings, or privacy. Having skills to work through loss is vital. People who have a protected, sheltered upbringing develop few tools to … [Read more...]
A time to be born, and a time to die
I don’t attend many funerals. Never have. It might be because my mother-in-law went to, seemingly, every funeral. Today, I think I understand why: she sincerely felt empathy for each family, she gained information and insights, and it was a legitimate excuse to go to town. This past week, I went to a Celebration of Life for a woman (let’s call her Helen) I loved and admired. … [Read more...]
Triskaidekaphobia
Jennifer GobleWhat? I have a Merriam-Webster Word of the Day post on my phone. I’ve always loved words, and I enjoy starting each morning with a new word. I read the definition, listen to the recording of how to speak the word, and delete it. I seldom use the word or even remember it, but I like words. This one stopped me because even after listening to the pronunciation, I … [Read more...]
Be a good human—you will like yourself better
October isn’t just a beautiful month; it is National Bullying Prevention Month. The purpose is to bring awareness and solutions to kids and schools. Most readers of this column are adults, so the focus of this article is adult bullies. Child bullies grow to be adult bullies. Why would they change? Bullying works for them; it gives them not just a feeling of power, but actual … [Read more...]