We all probably have our short list of the great dangers our world faces. Indeed, since the development and use of the atomic bomb, psychologists have talked about the “free-floating” anxiety of our time, an unnamed but nearly all-pervasive concern about the fate of ourselves and the world. So what’s on your list? Environmental degradation? Diminishing fossil fuels and other natural resources? Overwhelming poverty? The chance of devastating war? Certainly those are all on my list, too. But above all of them is my concern that we are increasingly living fractured lives, disconnected from each other and all too-often...

From time to time, filmmaker Anton Hecht sends me one of his short films with the request to share it with you. I’m always glad to do so, as he is reliably creative and produces superb and quite enjoyable films. This one – Happiness is a Harmonica – is part of a wellness initiative of a community inviting people to take five steps toward greater health, wellness, and happiness. I’m still not totally sure how playing the harmonica contributes :), although I think that the various people and folks playing it – actually, learning to play it – are engaged in one or more of the various steps. And all of them...