Trader Joe Friends

The Kindness Just Keeps on Coming

As I mentioned in last week’s Reminder, I fell on my knee and ruptured the quadricep tendon in my right leg. As a result, I spent two weeks in a hospital while the tendon was reattached. This resulted in my wife Marcia and I being on the receiving end of lots and lots of kindness.

Neighborhood

There are a Lot of Kind People Out There

A few weeks ago, I fell on my knee and ruptured the quadriceps tendon in my right leg. As a result, I spent two weeks in a hospital while the tendon was reattached. From the time I got there until the time I was discharged I was shown nothing but the utmost kindness from the hospital’s many healthcare professionals who took care of me—it was unbelievable!

Remove Your Mask

Being Yourself Is What Draws People to You

My daughter Katie sent me an issue of the internet publication called the Purpose Fairy. This issue contained a list of things we should give up if we want our lives to be easier and happier. One in particular caught my attention and that was the need to impress others.

Success or Failure

Failure Is A Learning Experience

Far too many people have bought into the myth that failure is fatal and is something that should be avoided. In reality, failure is the world’s most effective learning experience. Most of our greatest accomplishments were made possible through failure–learning to walk, ride a bike and drive. Why should the rest of our life be any different?

Helping Each Other

Kind People Never have to Face Adversity Alone

One of the things I have observed over the years is that when a kind person gets sick or otherwise faces adversity, people quickly line up to help them. On the other hand, when an unkind or selfish person faces adversity, nobody cares which means they have to face their adversity alone. This can be sad as well as scary. What’s going on here is simple and straightforward.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Happiness Causes Lots of Good Things to Happen in Your Life

We’ve all heard the phrase: “Don’t worry, be happy.” While it may sound trite, numerous medical and psychological studies show that this is sound advice to live by. These studies found that that happiness causes good things to happen across a number of fronts. For example, happy people have higher incomes, more fulfilling marriages, healthier…

Inspiration

Gaining Access to Inspiration

Inspiration, that special stimulus that arouses our thinking, feeling and action is necessary before we can accomplish anything worthy of note. In the words of German Poet, Johann Von Herder, “Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, they are a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.” Those sparks…

Soy Creamy

Get to Know the Employees of Places You Frequent

I visit the Trader Joe’s grocery store in my neighborhood several times a week. Whenever I go, I make it a point to positively interact with as many of its employees as I can. As a result, I have become friends with quite a few of them. Several weeks ago, I went there to buy some cherry chocolate chip soy ice cream for Noah, my four-year-old grandson who is lactose intoleran