One of my earliest childhood memories is when my grandparents surprised us by arriving at our doorstep unannounced. They lived eight hours away so we were overjoyed to see them. My...

I have always been fascinated by Kintsugi, the traditional Japanese art of mending broken pieces of pottery with liquid gold, silver, or lacquer — thus highlighting and enhancing the breaks and...

One day in school, I saw classmates bullying a girl in my class. They ganged up on her, saying really mean things to her. She seemed on the verge of tears....

I grew up braving bees, skunks, and thorns to pick wild blackberries for the promise of winter pies. Recently, I picked alone, leaning into the thorny vines as always. I knew...

Psychologist Jean Piaget carried out psychological experiments in which he observed that very young babies (under six months old) would be clearly interested in a toy placed a few yards in...

Each Friday, people flock to a farmers market near my home to buy meats, cheeses, produce, and other items. Shoppers look for different things — according to their needs. That’s just...

As a young Annapolis plebe disembarking from the USS Newport News to tour the old brick streets of Lisbon, Portugal, I saw an old man in dirty clothing begging on the...

Working in the unforgiving heat of the day during our environmental cleanup campaign, approximately 70 people showed up to clean a very contaminated mangrove swamp. When we took a short break,...

Not long after I turned 40, my health started going downhill. I experienced loss of appetite, sleeplessness, weight loss, and irrational thinking. My marriage was in trouble, and our oldest child...

I experience a special joy any time I pull an envelope out of my mailbox and see the handwriting of a dear friend or family member. I don’t need to look...