Month: May 2016

— Andrews + Blaine, Brand, Crane & Co, Kate Spade, Mudlark, Product Review, Product Review, Spr!tz, Target —

Product Review: Blank Cards, Thank You Cards, and Note Cards

May 25, 2016
Reviews 2016 02 24 Product Review Cards

A little over a year ago, I wrote a piece on how cards can help build a stronger community. Pleasantries, I wrote, “have been previously defined on this blog as the hydrogen bonds of community building” which although “are not in themselves strong enough to hold a molecule together, but can still change the properties… Read More Product Review: Blank Cards, Thank You Cards, and Note Cards

— Community, Community Building, Community Development —

The Real Meaning of Unity: Removing Obstacles to Fulfilling our True Purpose in Life

May 24, 2016

Quite unfortunately, community-building doesn’t just happen when a group of good-willed individuals come together. Not that good-will doesn’t help! But it’s not enough. All the good-will in the world cannot be properly channeled unless there is unity. If we think of the community-building process as rowing, it becomes clear that we can have a lot… Read More The Real Meaning of Unity: Removing Obstacles to Fulfilling our True Purpose in Life

— Community, Community Building, Community Development —

Unity Amidst Increasing Diversity in Smaller and Smaller Spaces: The Vital Importance of Respect

May 24, 2016

I recently posted reflections about the importance of learning the skills related to consultation in the context of a family, so that we can apply said skills in the context of society. The world is becoming smaller and smaller through increasingly efficient travel and exchange of information. This means two things: different people end up… Read More Unity Amidst Increasing Diversity in Smaller and Smaller Spaces: The Vital Importance of Respect

— Planning The Week, Recipe —

Recipe Recommendation: BLT pasta salad with avocado dressing

May 22, 2016
Planning the Week Recommended Recipe

Happy Sunday!  I use Sundays to plan and prepare for the upcoming week.  I have been asked so many times about the resources that help me plan a full week that I decided to launch the “Planning the Week” feature with three concomitant components: a recommended book to make your commute easier; a healthy recipe… Read More Recipe Recommendation: BLT pasta salad with avocado dressing

— Book Recommendation, Fiction, YA —

Book Recommendation: ‘Beyond Suspicion’, by Catherine A. Winn

May 22, 2016
Sahar's Book Recommendation

Happy Sunday!  I use Sundays to plan and prepare for the upcoming week.  I have been asked so many times about the resources that help me plan a full week that I decided to launch the “Planning the Week” feature with three concomitant components: a recommended book to make your commute easier; a healthy recipe… Read More Book Recommendation: ‘Beyond Suspicion’, by Catherine A. Winn

— Featured Post —

Featured Post: ‘Hasn’t anybody ever told you a handful is enough?’ — A Case Study of Objectification

May 21, 2016
Featured Post on Sahar's Blog

I came across an amazing post.  It dates from 2008 but touches upon a topic that is, quite unfortunately, still very much an issue today as it was back then: the objectification of the human body. I say “human” and not “female” because I think it’s time that we stop creating boundaries between men and… Read More Featured Post: ‘Hasn’t anybody ever told you a handful is enough?’ — A Case Study of Objectification

— General —

The Woman Carries the Baby, The Man Does… Nothing? Some Thoughts on Supporting the Partner of a Pregnant Woman

May 20, 2016
Sahar's Blog 2016 05 20 The Woman Carries the Baby, The Man Does… Nothing Some Thoughts on Supporting the Partner of a Pregnant Woman

Something has been troubling me over the last couple of years and, now that I am living through the experience of being pregnant, it’s hitting home hard. While it’s true that physically, I am carrying our child, the emotional, mental, and spiritual weight of the responsibility is not only on my shoulders.  Even a good… Read More The Woman Carries the Baby, The Man Does… Nothing? Some Thoughts on Supporting the Partner of a Pregnant Woman

— Author Spotlight, Writing —

Author Spotlight: Bernie Strachan

May 19, 2016
Sahar's Blog Author Spotlight Bernie Strachan Claire Sandy

Under the pen name Claire Sandy, Bernie Strachan wrote a wonderful book I recently had the pleasure of reviewing. What Would Mary Berry Do? is a delightful tale about a happy family trying to live life in a better way, namely by the female head of the household reaching out to her new found touchstone,… Read More Author Spotlight: Bernie Strachan

— Book Review, Fiction, Women's Fiction —

Book Review: ‘What Would Mary Berry Do?’ by Claire Sandy

May 19, 2016
Book Reviews on Sahar's Blog

Mary Berry is to Marie what idols are to many people: a touchstone of sorts to which we turn when we are in dire straits, gaining focus by centering our thoughts and actions on what would this person do in our position. The lovely tale that is What Would Mary Berry Do? features no big… Read More Book Review: ‘What Would Mary Berry Do?’ by Claire Sandy

— Non Fiction, Psychology —

Book Review: ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’ by Susan Cain

May 19, 2016
Book Reviews on Sahar's Blog

One of the most powerful images I was taught as a child is that just as the beauty of a garden is in the diversity of the plants that compose it, so it is with mankind. One by one, obstacles to creating unity are coming down. This is due to many factors, one being thoughtful… Read More Book Review: ‘Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking’ by Susan Cain