Photos of Mark Neese from True North Counseling doing different exercising in a gym.

2026 Resolution: Go Big or Go Home | Healthy Aging Series: S12 E13

My first two years of high school were a complete failure. Zero motivation. I wasn’t a smartass or anything, I just didn’t care. I remember sitting in the back of Miss Miller’s Spanish class and flipping nickels with my friend, Don. I didn’t learn a thing. I did just enough to pass. My grade point...

Learn More
Rommie Oshrieh Neese posing for a photo at her desk.

How to Say I’m Sorry in Two Words

This is a guest blog written by Rommie Oshrieh Neese. Are you a risk taker? If so, apologies may come easier for you. If not, well, when it comes to making amends and actually apologizing, you may experience some bumps and bruises in your relationships with others. Let’s face it. For many, an apology is a...

Learn More
Mark Neese as a young man in the U.S. Air Force.

The Art of Wallowing | Healthy Aging Series: S12 E12

Camp Bullis, Texas, 1975 It felt like a death march. As part of our Airbase Defense Training, the Air Force required us to march 10 miles, which included other necessary skills like orienteering, weapons fire, and combat tactics. Today, I don’t think twice about a 10-mile hike. There’s a system of trails in the Jefferson...

Learn More
Mark Neese, owner of True North Counseling, poses for a photo against a brick wall.

Don’t Monetize Your Life | Healthy Aging Series: S12 E11

Many years ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a young Southern Baptist Minister. I pastored two churches, one in Eastern New Mexico, and one in West Texas. The first was a very small church in the middle of peanut fields and the second was in the heart of west-Texas oil country. It...

Learn More
Mark Neese of True North Counseling stops for a photo while hiking the Grand Canyon.

Simplicity is Not the Key to Happiness | Healthy Aging Series: S12 E10

There are 5 common mistakes that rookie-backpackers make in their early years. First, they lack physical conditioning. I have a backpack with 40 lbs. of cat-litter in the back of my Jeep. I strap it on and I do hill repeats once a week. Second, they forget an important piece of equipment. My first backpacking...

Learn More
Photo of Mark Neese when he was a young Airman stationed at Rickenbaker Air Force Base, Columbus, Ohio. He was a Dog Handler tasked with guarding KC 135’s and poses with in uniform with his dog by his side.

Good Fortune and Six Flags over Texas | Healthy Aging Series: S12 E9

I was struck by lightning once. Well, almost. I was a 20-year-old Airman stationed at Rickenbaker Air Force Base, Columbus, Ohio. I was a Dog Handler tasked with guarding KC 135’s. Central Ohio, like much of the Midwest, can have some hellacious thunderstorms. During one stormy night, another Dog Handler and I were walking the...

Learn More