By NANCY PATRICK I recently watched an interview between Fareed Zakaria and author Bruce Feiler on CNN. Feiler’s new book Life Is in the Transitions presents the theory that life follows an experiential and twisted road rather than a linear path. I remembered that as a child, my son enjoyed a series of books entitled Choose Your Own Adventure. The
Read more
By NANCY PATRICK In the midst of COVID restrictions, racial unrest across the country, and national political upheaval, I find my days full of frustration, emotional ups and downs, confusion, and sheer exhaustion. I do realize that many share my symptoms of long-term anxiety, fear, and worry. Some days feel long and useless while others seem filled with unpleasant news
Read more
By NANCY PATRICK September is National Suicide Prevention Month. As one of the wealthiest and most powerful countries in the world, America should be one of the happiest places to live. Unfortunately, the rise in American suicides implies the opposite. A couple of years ago, the suicides of 55-year-old fashion designer Kate Spade and internationally popular chef and food techy
Read more
By NANCY PATRICK I grew up thinking of dirty words as cuss words or sexually vulgar words or even profane words against God. I did not know that the dirtiest word I would ever learn would come to me in my forties. That word is “divorce.” Of course, I knew what the word meant, but my family had largely escaped
Read more
By NANCY PATRICK Sometimes my brain runs in overdrive. I feel as if I have drunk several energy drinks or a couple of espressos, but I haven’t. My head stays full of so many of the stories that saturate our lives that my brain refuses to take a time out. I spend a lot of time thinking about the differences
Read more
By NANCY PATRICK Has anyone ever so deeply hurt, angered, or wronged you that you could not get beyond it? The idea of forgiveness made you laugh, not with humor but with a sarcastic sneer. I hate to confess, but I have felt this way on more than one occasion. I know the depth of pain, rage, and bitterness that
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK Loneliness, a sense of isolation, shattered dreams, doubtful purpose, fear, boredom, insecurity—these feelings have affected most Americans even before the COVID-19 pandemic. We can multiply those feelings in the midst of a prolonged quarantine with its accompanying restrictions. Many people distrust authorities because some of the authorities disagree among themselves. All of this upheaval occurs while the
Read moreEditor’s Note: Nancy Patrick is a regular contributor to Spirit of Abilene. Her columns usually carry weight, but she recently posted the following “Lessons Learned,” with both insight and humor, on Facebook. Read and enjoy. Lessons learned from COVID-19 quarantine from Nancy Patrick 1. I know there is no one I had rather been quarantined with than my sweet husband
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK Not often heard today, the word “integrity” has disappeared from most people’s vocabulary. Everyone seems to know what courage, honesty, sincerity, responsibility, and reliability mean; however, the word “integrity” seems even more abstract than those qualities. Definitions of the word include “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness; the state of wholeness
Read more