Volunteerism is the engine that makes many of our communities run. Look around your town, and you’ll see what I mean. From houses of worship, fire and ambulance services, food pantries and soup kitchens, libraries, environment and conservation efforts, and social service agencies, lives are enhanced and […]
It’s Sunday, and I’m on a walk and casting about for something to do. A manicure? Nah. Hmmm… what’s this? A drop-in tarot reading? Why not?
I’d been seeing posts about tarot on Instagram and in articles here or there. This year, Dior launched its spring/summer collection with […]
Emerging from our COVID has left us hungry – for experiences and joyful connection. For more than a year, we closed in on ourselves, threw ourselves into gardening and growing food, and found solace in the outdoors, perhaps becoming more curious about the natural world. It would […]
I’m the Coordinator of the Career Experience Program at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (HVRHS) in Falls Village, CT. This initiative helps students become more career aware and expose them to opportunities to gain that awareness. In this Covid year, it’s been a challenge to create opportunities […]
The year 2020 was an extraordinary one. COVID-19 and the political and social landscape have exposed the best and worst in what humans are capable of. We simultaneously feel torn further apart and drawn closer together. We rely on virtual interpersonal connectivity in ways we might not […]
An attachment to the natural world is a critical component of childhood development. Spending unstructured time outdoors is therapeutic and restorative. It can boost creativity, ease anxiety and depression, build attention spans, and help develop capacities to self-soothe and be comfortable with solitude. Yet, increasingly […]
Remember taking high school geometry? You thought it was terrible for your mental health and something you’d never need in the “real world” – once the final exam was over. Well, what if you found out that geometry in the form of fractals has positive health effects […]
Caution: This article contains a trigger warning and a spoiler alert.
Trigger warning: Your unconscious emotional triggers and emotional reactivity can harm your psychological and physical health.
Spoiler alert: The happy ending is that addressing your reactivity is within your control, and with practice and perhaps some professional help, […]
No disrespect to mountain laurel as the Connecticut State shrub, but perhaps it’s time to pass the torch to the humble, medicinal, and magical witch hazel.
This wonder shrub finds a suitable home in the woodlands of the northeast part of the country. While mostly present on the eastern side of Connecticut, you can find a […]
History runs through this region. It follows the Housatonic River as it flows through the towns of Litchfield and Berkshire counties. Set out in any direction, and you’re bound to encounter the area’s past. Because of this, in 2006, Congress designated this region as the Upper Housatonic […]