Let me start with a confession. Since retiring, I have not worn a watch. Not because I can’t tell time anymore, but because time itself has changed. There is “clock time”, the thing the rest of the world uses, and then there is “retiree time,” which is governed by different laws entirely. Retiree time asks […]

 Let me explain something I’ve learned through my own struggles and through watching others navigate the same battle. When you stand in front of the refrigerator at midnight, or find yourself reaching for another handful of something you don’t even taste, or feel that familiar shame settle over you after eating more than you intended, […]

Let’s be honest with one another. The world feels shorter now. Shorter news cycles, shorter attention spans, shorter fuses. Everywhere you look, people seem wound tight, ready to snap at the slightest provocation. And if you’re honest, perhaps you’ve felt that tension in yourself too. The quick flash of irritation at a slow driver. The […]

Let’s be honest with one another. The world feels shorter now. Shorter news cycles, shorter attention spans, shorter fuses. Everywhere you look, people seem wound tight, ready to snap at the slightest provocation. And if you’re honest, perhaps you’ve felt that tension in yourself too. The quick flash of irritation at a slow driver. The […]

 There are moments in life when believing in anything feels impossible. Perhaps you’ve lost someone dear and the world feels emptier. Perhaps the suffering you’ve witnessed makes the idea of a loving God seem distant, even cruel. Perhaps you’ve simply looked at the noise and division and thought, “How can anyone be certain of anything?” […]

 Sometimes, when people say they aren’t worried, they really are. I have learned this over years of sitting across from people, listening to what they say and trying to hear what they don’t. It happens in living rooms and coffee shops, at community centre tables and on park benches. Someone will lean back in their […]

Look around you. I mean it. Stop for a moment, right where you are, and just look. If you are reading this in your home, look at the walls that have held steady through countless seasons. Look at the photographs on the shelf, the frozen moments of laughter, of gatherings, of people you have loved. […]

 I told my friend I was feeling useless, so he suggested I try volunteering at the retirement home. I said, “But I’m 78 years old.”He said, “Perfect. You can answer the front desk phone.”I said, “But I don’t know how to use the new system.”He said, “Don’t worry. Neither does anyone who calls.” I asked […]

I want to talk with you today about something the research on volunteering does not say directly but implies in every finding. Something we have danced around in our previous conversations but have not yet named plainly. The people you will serve through volunteering may not be ready to receive you. They may be suspicious. […]

I want to share something with you today that made my heart smile. Not because it is new news to most of us who have lived a while, but because it is wonderful when science catches up with what our grandmothers told us all along. A comprehensive review of decades of research on volunteering has […]