When Your Reach Exceeds Your Grasp.

Newly minted country star Luke Bryan is appearing in print ads for Reach dental floss.

The strained copy tries to liken the proper guitar strings to the right floss.  And Bryan as a spokesperosn for oral hygiene?

I'm not buying this awkward overreach.

Though I do love his song "Rain is a Good Thing." 

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

The Zen of Living.

According to my friend Marcie, all one needs to achieve the Zen of Living is: "A cat, a cup and a yoga mat!"

Word Power.

Here are the latest words worth dropping for your weekend:

Smitten
Bejeweled
Ferocious
Careen
Rapturous
Incisive

Old Rules.

Researchers has recently discovered ways that older minds hold their own against younger ones, according to an article int he May issue of O magazine.

Among the advantages: 

* Your hemispheres--left and right--sync up
* Your reasoning and problem-solving skills get sharper
* You focus on the upside
* Your priorities become clearer
* You can see the big picture
* You become an instant expert--even in new situations

Take that, whippersnappers!

http://www.oprah.com/health/Aging-Brain-Facts-Do-You-Get-Smarter-as-You-Age

5 Easy Ways to Snap Out of a Bad Mood.

1. Watch an episode of Saturday Night Live featuring Molly Shannon as Sally O'Malley or Bill Hader as Stefon

2. Blow bubbles

3. Eat a popsicle

4. Wear something orange or yellow

5. Have a glass of champagne

Happy weekend!

Of Sleeping Children and Glass Hearts.

Did you know that when little kids get lost in the woods they do something really smart?  They find a snug place, curl up and sleep. 

Adults tend to keep moving, keep trying to find their own way out.  Kids wait for the grown-ups to solve the problem.

I learned this and so much more from a slim, beautiful memoir called Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup. Braestrup is a chaplain for the Maine Warden Service, comforting people who have lost a loved one.

Nearly every page caught me with a startling truth:  "Eventually, my heart--my fragile glass heart--would again be offered to the mortal hands of another man guaranteed to break it, one way or another, since that is the lunacy and loveliness of love."

Or an observation:  "I can't think how many people I've had to tell about a death, how many people have that memory of me standing there, saying those words.  It's really something, to be on the hinge of so many stories."

And especially this about moving past grief:  "Then light your candles to the living.  Say your prayers for the living.  Give your flowers to the living.  Leave the stones where they are, but take your heart with you.  Your heart is not a stone."

http://www.amazon.com/Here-If-You-Need-Me/dp/B0030EG156/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303145448&sr=8-1

The (He)art of Storytelling.

One of life's great joys is losing oneself in a great story.  This is true whether you are 4 or 40 or 80.

That's why storytelling--in both oral and written forms--is common to every culture.  It's the oldest form of entertainment, education, illumination and connection.

An article in the March/April edition of Psychology Today called "The Inside Story" explores the powerful link between effective stories and our brains. 

As writers, if we can harness that power in authentic ways, we can move readers to action.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201103/the-inside-story