Meditations
Making New Year’s Resolutions Work
January 3, 2024
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
How can you prevent resolutions made on January 1 from going by the wayside before February 1? Design a process that keeps alive the good intentions and positive motivation inherent in resolutions as one moves through the slow and challenging process of real change. Here are some ideas.
Christmas and Depression, an Assembling God’s Puzzle video
December 13, 2023
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, CPPS.
Christmas — the most wonderful time of the year? Our culture tells us it is. But according to mental health agencies and therapists, more people report feeling depressed at Christmas time than almost any other time of the year. Why is that?
How to cope with crazy holiday gatherings
November 21, 2023
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, CPPS.
Holiday family gatherings can sometimes be challenging to navigate. Here are a few strategies to help you cope with family situations you might find yourself in this holiday season.
Boy Was My Face Red: Handling Embarrassment
October 13, 2023
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
One of the puzzle pieces of life that we experience much more often than we’d like is embarrassment. It’s unavoidable, and usually crops up when we least expect it. Here are strategies to minimize embarrassment.
Spirituality or Psychology?
August 29, 2023
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Whether a person comes to me for spiritual direction or counseling, I will be helping them deal with their perception of their world, possibly adjusting it to be more accurate and helpful, which, I hope, will result in behavior that makes life better for them and those around them.
Fight Reality or Go with the Flow
August 16, 2023
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
Reality does not hand us a perfect place to be, although we would like that. And when we find ourselves in a spot where numbers of things are not going the way we’d like, we can find ourselves fighting reality. Watch the Video.
What to do with Anger
June 27, 2023
Fr. Garry Richmeier
“That makes me angry!” That statement implies that something has control over my emotions and I am like a puppet without any choice in the matter. But that’s not true. We are free to react to things any way we want. How do we do that?
Vices vs. Virtues
June 8, 2023
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
As human beings, we can’t get away from the fact that we are a mixed bag of vices and virtues, and we have to figure out what to do with both.
I Think, Therefore I Feel
May 16, 2023
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S
Emotions, not being rational, can be difficult to control when an event triggers one. But there is a step between the event and the emotion that we can control; the preceding thought. Managing our thoughts can help avoid negative emotions and the hurtful actions that sometimes follow.
Avoiding Mud Puddles or How to Move Beyond Mere Survival
May 2, 2023
By Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.PP.S.
When young, we learn coping strategies to safeguard our emotional, psychological and social survival, but not all strategies may be healthy. A person dying of thirst, for example, will drink from a mudpuddle to survive. How does one avoid drinking from mud puddles?