Tag Archive for: book reviews

Mark Neese hiking with his granddaughters. True North Counseling Blog.

How to Learn the Meaning of a Minute | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E15

I loved working at UPS. I was a load supervisor on the South Ramp. Mind you, that was 30 years ago. If you ever worked there, I know you would agree that the ramp was organized confusion. And yes, it was stressful. At any given time, there were dozens and dozens of aircraft, 747s, Airbus…

Young Mark Neese of True North Counseling and his family.

Pope Francis and Religion that Heals | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E14

I’m not a Catholic, but I felt the loss of Pope Francis. I’ve been reading Thomas Merton lately, and I think Pope Francis was that kind of Catholic. They rejected certitude and coerciveness in religion. They supported a more tolerant and inclusive Catholicism. There was healing in their message, at least for me. Toxic Religion…

Mark Neese of True North Counseling writing for the Healthy Aging Series

Life is Like a Road Trip | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E13

Having a Kansas Moment I hate driving through Kansas. I can see many heads nodding in agreement. But I do love road trips. I’ve driven out to Colorado several times. Three times in one year during the pandemic. It took my back six months to heal up from those road trips. Why do I dread…

Mark Neese climbs up a bouldering wall.

How to Start a Revolution | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E12

My First climbing Experience The first time I used a climbing gym was in 2002 at Rockport. My climbing partner and I did the initial training for belaying on Top Rope. There were no auto-belays then. Auto-belays are like a tape measures that you hook onto and it retracts as you climb. But, if you…

Mark Neese hiking in the Grand Canyon. He encourages us to take heart in the face of difficult situations.

You Can’t Think and Feel at the Same Time | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E11

Several years ago, I was invited by Quest For The Outdoors to share my adventures in Canyonland National Park. So much fun. People were amazed by some of the facts about Canyonlands. It’s about 350,000 acres, which is about half the size of the state of Rhode Island. And it’s remote. The Maze District-Range Station…

Mark Neese and his wife standing at the ocean. Healthy Aging Series Season 11 Episode 10 Blog Post.

Give Us this Day our Amazon Prime | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E10

I’ve never done Black Friday. Do we even call it that anymore? I looked into the origin of Black Friday, and it seems to have originated in Philadelphia in the 1960s to describe the heavy traffic and crowds that occurred the day after Thanksgiving. More recently, it has been a way for retailers to indicate…

Mark Neese of True North Counseling sitting, looking out at the Grand Canyon.

The Most Loved and Hated Man in America | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E9

I have a few specific memories of the fifth grade. We lived in Elberfeld, Indiana. My father had purchased horse stables, which he confessed years later, was a big mistake. I have the memory of ending up in the hospital after being trampled by a horse named Valentine. We had a coal furnace, and I…

Mark Neese, owner of True North Counseling, looking out into a canyon. This blog post looks at how the world has turned into an upside-down world.

How to Live in the Upside-Down World | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E8

My first exposure to the phrase “Upside-Down World” was from the series ‘Stranger Things.’ The “Upside-Down World” in that series was a world of monsters and life-threatening phenomenon that were pretty damn scary. What is the “Upside-Down World?” Here’s an internet definition: An “Upside-Down World” refers to a situation where the normal order of things is…

Mark Neese, owner of True North Counseling, standing in Jefferson Memorial Forest on a hike.

Mitch McConnell and the Last Crusade | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E7

Do you ever feel like you’ve lost your way? I was hiking in the Jefferson Memorial Forest a number of years ago. My favorite trail was the Mitch McConnell Trail (MMT). I know, I know everyone hates him. The right and the left equally hate him. Maybe hate is too strong of a word. But…

Mark Neese lifting weights in his home gym. Photo for a True North Counseling blog post on Bernarr McFadden.

How to Make a Complete Mess of Your Life | Healthy Aging Series: S11 E6

My mom was mostly healthy up until a few weeks before she died. She had hypertension. It was managed with Meds. She had a-fib, and it was mostly managed with meds. I think that’s all. But she was prone to fall. The older she got the less stable she was. She had the senior wobble….