Here’s where the roving eye of Bob Sitze lands on interesting or important events, trends, discoveries, opinions or research that are part of contemporary life. Sometimes missed in spiritually oriented utterances, the stuff of life consists of all the places where God’s hand stirs, supports or motivates. These blogs may also include links for further information or action.
Somewhere along the line, this blog shifted out from under my grasp. I fully intended to spotlight the best-selling book, The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, a newer entry in the growing field of decluttering. The more I thought about the subject, the more it skittered away from easy definitions or explanations. This made me wonder if I needed to straighten up decluttering in my ownMORE...
All “modest proposals” usually start with modest questions. So take this title as a sign that I’m not sure how to write about a current situation that may be vexing you and me. The matter: The continuing anxiety I feel when confronted or assaulted by political news of the day or moment. To be specific, the ways in which otherwise thoughtful and righteous folks have yielded their moralMORE...
This trip around the calendar year, Easter shares its date with April Fools Day! That fact got me to thinking about this confluence of holidays, wondering about what that might mean. With these words comes my invitation for your thoughts on the subject. I really enjoy April Fools Day. Always have, always will—even into my later years. Show me a good prank—carefully chosen semi-sillinessMORE...
“If you see something, say something!” This mantra of public awareness and crime prevention spreads throughout our public spaces like an exclamation point that accentuates the other commandments of public virtue. Our society seems to agree: Alert citizens—including those of us are older—are watching AND are willing to raise their voices when they notice something that might be wrong. ItMORE...
When my spouse and I were courting, and had come to the point of being pretty sure we wanted to spend our lives together, we would sometimes imagine what it would be like to be in love at some advanced age in our future. Rocking chairs on the porch was always our go-to image, spring or summer the imagined season and comforting coziness the ambience with which we would enjoy those loving timesMORE...
In recent weeks, news reports have noted the establishment of a well-regarded function of Great Britain’s governmental bureaucracy: The Ministry of Loneliness. The announcement was notable for several reasons: • The need for this work has been known for years—loneliness is a health matter that correlates with diminished physical and mental health that has spread across Britain’s relationalMORE...
“Remember that you must die”. This is the function of a recently developed *Web app that will send you five randomly-spaced text messages each day that focus on this timeless truth. (The developers of this app credit a famous Bhutanese folk saying that professes “to be a truly happy person, one must contemplate death five times daily.”) Not-so-strangely, the creators of this app are serious aboutMORE...
Truth in these times may seem to be in short supply. Given the sometimes-overwhelming amount of individual and societal stress that we encounter, it’s difficult to process so much information with consistent integrity. Our brains’ reactions to stress—fighting, fleeing, freezing—might include reliance on falsehood as a way of diminishing anxiety. Our widespread choice to be prevaricatorsMORE...
Leafy green veggies may help protect your brain from some of the effects of cognitive decline. So writes Melissa Healy, health and science reporter with the Los Angeles Times (melissa.healy@latimes) in her recent article, “Kale and other leafy vegetables may make your brain seem 11 years younger.” Citing the work of Dr. Martha Morris, nutrition and brain health researcher at Rush MedicalMORE...
Okay, all you grumpy old folks out there—gather around and listen up: There are now scientific studies that might be hopeful about our basic temperament! (And because you’re a curmudgeon, you know there’s plenty of other research to dispute the following facts….) Here’s a summary of some recent research findings: • The marriages of optimists are more likely to deteriorate. • OverconfidentMORE...
BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.