Greg Holmes | Author

Happiness and Its Discontents

Dec. 21, 2024

How happy were you this year? 2024 was a difficult year for many of us to feel good about, as there were a plethora of difficult things that impacted our lives.

Think about what we went through last year. Take climate change as an example. Images of forest fires, flooding, and sever… Read More >>

Phase Dance

Oct. 5, 2024

How do you feel about the fact that you are getting older and that you are aging by the minute?

Your answer likely depends on several things, especially your current chronological age. For example, if you are an adolescent, you may be impatient and quite eager to speed up the proces… Read More >>

Why Self-Help Books Don't Work

Aug. 10, 2024

How many self-help books have you read? How many do you have on your bookshelves? Have you been on a retreat to help with some form of self-improvement, whether it be psychological, physical, or spiritual?

If you’ve done any or all of the above, you’re not alone. The bus… Read More >>

The Long and the Short of It

June 8, 2024

Do you want to live longer than expected? Would you take a pill that would make it possible for you to live forever?

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the average life expectancy of Americans has increased from 45 years of age in 1900 to 77.5 in 2022. This dramatic i… Read More >>

In Praise of Goodness

April 13, 2024

As I write this column, former president Jimmy Carter has been receiving hospice care for over a year at his home in South Georgia.

Whether you believe Carter was a “good” president or not most likely depends on your own political affiliation. It’s much easier to l… Read More >>

Women Need Not Apply

Feb. 3, 2024

When I was a young boy, a priest explained to our catechism class how people became priests. He told us that we would know if we were supposed to become a priest because we would be “called” by God. I was afraid God would call me; there was no way I wanted to be a priest. Fortun… Read More >>

Truth and Consequences

Dec. 9, 2023

My typical morning routine would go like this: drink coffee, scroll through various newsfeeds, and come across a story about a politician lying. You’ve heard plenty of these stories—the vast majority involving either accusations about the politicians lying or politicians accusin… Read More >>

When Doves Cry

Oct. 7, 2023

We kept a close eye on each other.

A pair of mourning doves built a nest on a corner ledge on our front porch. It was the second time this summer. The first nest ended in tragedy when the nest was attacked by grackles and destroyed along with two newborn doves.

So when the s… Read More >>

All the Lonely People

Aug. 5, 2023

Do you feel lonely, isolated, and have few, if any, friends? If so, you are part of a growing segment of the population that reports having the same problem. In fact, it has been estimated that at any given moment, upwards of 50 percent of people in the United States experience feelings of … Read More >>

The Tragic Lives of Mass Shooters

June 3, 2023

Another day, another mass shooting. There have been over 200 mass shootings so far this year in the U.S. as we head to an all-time yearly record. The question is no longer if a shooting will occur, but where it will happen next.

Is there anything that can be done to stop these horri… Read More >>

The Seesaw of Self-Esteem

April 15, 2023

When was the last time you judged another person? How often do you find yourself putting someone or something down? Be honest now. If you stop and think about it, it’s much more often than you would like to admit.

Why do we spend so much of our precious time and energy critici… Read More >>

True Love

Feb. 11, 2023

My favorite thing about James Taylor’s 1993 album Live is not a particular song, but rather the repartee that he has with an audience member. When a woman shouts out, “I love you, James!”, Taylor quickly replies “I love you too!” After a momentary pause he adds… Read More >>

The Tyranny of the Shoulds

Nov. 19, 2022

The holiday season is now upon us: Thanksgiving is already here with Christmas soon to follow. Are you looking forward to celebrating them, or, like many others, are you dreading them?

There’s little disagreement that the holidays can add significant stress to one’s alre… Read More >>

The Disturbing Trends of Mental Health and Safety

July 30, 2022

Is your child depressed? Do they feel increasingly anxious and believe that their life is hopeless?

If so, they are hardly alone. A recent study from the Mental Health Million Project of Sapien Labs showed an alarming decline in mental health worldwide from 2019 to 2021. One of… Read More >>