It’s been a tough year. Many of us turn to food to soothe our spirits especially during this holiday season. Specifically, calorie laden, fat, sugar, salt and carbo heavy foods. These gut bombs give us momentary solace and then upset our stomachs, pack on the pounds and generally makes us sorry we ate them later.

It’s natural to search for relief from stress in small and big ways. How do we ease the tension and anxiety without making ourselves feel worse? Food seems to be a natural. And it can be if we adjust our behavior and the ingredients in…

Why being grateful creates happiness and more good

'Twas the worst of times. My husband died suddenly of a heart attack. I stopped working from the shock, my family was preoccupied and on another continent, and friends stayed away because they didn’t know how to deal with death so early in our lives. I was alone, no work, no income, and no place I wanted to be. Getting up in the morning seemed like an exercise in futility. Why bother? There was no one there, nothing to do, no place to go, and money was dwindling away.

Giving thanks saved…

What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? What am I striving for? During these challenging times, such questions come up in many people’s minds. If we knew our life purpose and the meaning of life, the stress of our day to day trials would be easier to understand and endure. The heavy pressure, physical, emotional and financial strain we are feeling under the current health crisis, travel restrictions and political uncertainty could be converted into motivation if we can see the bigger picture.

My dear friend, Glenn, is an emergency room physician and medical director. In the…

“It’s different when it’s your house that’s on fire” K.B., Fire Department Captain

Life as we knew it pre-Covid-19 is no more. The changes and disruptions have wrecked many people’s mental and emotional stability along with their finances and careers. There are steps you can take manage your stress, anxiety, emotional and physical balance to give you the grounding to move forward gracefully.

A longtime friend of mine is in the eye of the storm. She is the community outreach nurse manager in the area’s largest hospital group, dealing daily with general hospital issues, constant adjustments due to the fluctuating…

Food for thought. What you eat can fuel your mental capacity, energize your body and balance your emotions. Food is fundamental to survival and now there’s substantiation that it’s also pivotal to peak performance.

People have been searching for the competitive edge in work performance long before people even started working in offices. In the past few decades, the quest to excel in business has led people to learn about emotional intelligence, meditation and exercise in addition to the prior credentials-based pursuit. Each new soft skill area has helped to expand the less tangible advantages that were previously overlooked.

Plant-based food is the latest business success tool.

I…

“Frankly we don’t hire women for positions other than tellers and receptionists at our bank”, the recruiter of the prominent Oregonian bank said to me after my on-campus interview. It was sobering to hear that from a recruiter since I was armed with a master’s degree in Economics and Business and have excellent summer and school year work experience and recommendations. Then he added, “besides, you originally came from another country, so we definitely won’t hire you”.

The situation has somewhat improved now a few decades later, but truly not anywhere near enough. Not when according to Stanford University research…

The current protests and consequent disruptions we are experiencing are painful reminders that we are nowhere close to having meaningful and equitable diversity and inclusion in the business world. This disparity has caused deep seated resentment and underutilization of valuable resources at a pivotal time in the world.

Diversity and Inclusion have been discussed and nominally adopted by businesses and other organizations for years. The actual integration of minorities into the management and decision-making factors of organizations have severely lagged the organizational lip service. There are bright spots created by dedicated and visionary leaders who understand the power of using the full array of human resources to accomplish their goals; it’s wise, strategic and ethical.

Let’s look at some of the facts of why Diversity & Inclusion is good for business.

1. The US population as well as the world population is increasingly diverse and nonwhite.

2. A…

My mother was a gift wrapped in sandpaper — cutting and abrasive upon contact, but when carefully examined and thoughtfully experienced, she became my most powerful and inspiring teacher.

She passed away some years ago, between Thanksgiving and the year-end holidays of light and gift giving — an auspicious time of giving thanks and celebration of life. Helping to sort out the things in her home, I found something that added significantly to my perspective of her. …