In case you missed it, the story of Perry and Penny taught us that pigeons aren’t pessimists.   And the other truth about pigeons is that… Pigeons aren’t optimists (either)! Perry said to Penny, “I know I should be less pessimistic…and I’m trying…but it’s so hard to be optimistic these days.”   Penny, now firmly convinced that Perry had been infected by human thinking, knew that both his pessimism and his self-criticism over his pessimism were each symptoms of his distorted thinking.   Her response to Perry was simple:  “Stop making this harder than it needs to be.  Be a pigeon, not a human.” Pigeons don’t need to attend seminars on developing the habit of freedom…because they’ve never developed the

There they were – Perry and Penny – two pigeons perched on the precipice of a pergola – when, out of the blue, Perry said to Penny, “You know what?” Penny, appearing somewhat puzzled, replied “What?”   “I’ve got a bad feeling about today,” said Perry. Penny, still confused, asked, “What makes you say that?” “Well,” said Perry, “Thanks for asking!” (He couldn’t wait to justify his gloomy forecast.) See, yesterday was a bad day…I messed up and left the nest later than I planned…and missed out on all the good berries and insects in the park.  By the time I got there, those other greedy pigeons had eaten them all.” 

No, I’m not referring to the tie…  I’m referring to the other BOLO:  Be On the LookOut. Imagine there has just been a bank robbery.   Law enforcement puts out a BOLO – an alert or broadcast message used to share information about a person(s) of interest – so that others can be on the lookout for the suspect(s).  The BOLO is key to identifying and apprehending the suspect(s), potentially preventing future (in this case) bank robberies by the suspect(s).     And, without first gathering key details about the suspect(s) – from eyewitness statements, CCTV footage, etc – the BOLO would be useless.   Good News:  No banks were robbed in the writing of

You’ve been told to be more “mindful” and to practice “mindfulness.”   After all, scientific studies have shown us the mental health benefits of mindfulness:  reducing stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms while enhancing mood, well-being, cognitive function, and emotional regulation. And the physical health benefits:  reducing blood pressure and chronic pain while enhancing sleep quality, gut health, and immune function.   The instruction to practice implies it is something that doesn’t come naturally.   (And, let’s face it, mindfulness comes to us humans about as naturally as the color orange comes to Doritos.)  People might have occasional moments of present-awareness, but it’s usually short lived. You might even go a step further and have a “meditation practice,” likely done in

“Take this job and…”   These are the first four words from the six-word, attention grabbing title of the 1977 song by Johnny Paycheck.   But, wait… Before you hit “send” on that resignation letter… Consider that the FREEDOM you’re looking for might have more to do with your cognition than your circumstances.   We’ve been (subconsciously) conditioned to think that happiness – of which freedom is an essential ingredient – is circumstance-dependent.  “I’ll feel free when ____________ happens.” “Once I get ______________, then I’ll be free.”  “I can’t __________ yet.”   “I won’t be able to until __________.” Don’t get me wrong.  Sometimes a change of circumstance can be useful but, more often than not, it’s the (subconscious) habit of helplessness that is getting in the way of the feeling of freedom.  

“Well, I guess it’s back to the grind tomorrow.” That’s what many (if not most) people were thinking (consciously, or subconsciously) last night as they grappled with the reality of returning to work after the weekend. Oh, I almost forgot to say:  “Happy Monday!”  (By the way, we say that phrase tongue-in-cheek because it’s meant to be understood as “Yeah, right!  Who’s really happy on a Monday???) Someone once observed that we humans “work jobs we don’t like, to make money we don’t have, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like.” No other life form could fathom doing this.  So, as a result, they have