Absolute Citrin

“Bueller…Bueller…” When Ferris Bueller’s economics teacher, Ben Stein, asked whether he was in class, we already knew that Ferris was faking a sick day so that he and his buddies could have an epic day of exploring Chicago on Von Steuben Day. And epic it was. I loved when his friend, Cameron, sat staring at George Seurat’s unique pointillism painting at the Chicago Art Institute. Today is National Goof Off Day (NGOD), which sounds like a bad thing to do...

This past weekend, I was honored when one of my teachers and dear friends, Cynthia Winton-Henry, shared her latest newsletter from “The Hidden Monastery.” Cynthia reflected on the importance of International Women’s Day. She noted that the world does not need an International Men’s Day, but she would like to see a day that recognizes: “Men who follow women, men who understand the role of women, men who listen to women, and especially men who dignify the role of highly sensitive...

I had a full day on Monday and was giving serious thought to canceling going to my workout class that morning. I’m glad I didn’t. I’ve been taking this Essentrics class for about six months. It fits the “flexibility” category, which is one of the five areas of strength I like to do every week. Jill is a great teacher because she performs the class with complete awareness of how our bodies function and move. We explore ways to increase...

Rethinking the Traumatizing Workplace A number of letters to the New York Times Work Friend Advice Column understandably focus on how difficult the workplace can be for many people. Over the past year, however, people began reporting that their workplace is traumatizing.  Recently, one person reported being meaningfully bothered by her new boss’ desire that have some social get togethers after work.  Another person complained about not wanting to look at pictures of a colleague’s new baby because she thought...

The CDC released a report on their survey of 17,000 teenagers. There was some good news and some not-good news. Most surprisingly, it came with no recommendations for parents, so let’s share some here. Good News: Bad News The element of this report that bothers me is not the absolute number of young people having trouble as measured by the intensity of symptoms which is increasing. This is demonstrated by the level of suicidal thinking and actions along with the...

The first time I did the Loving Kindness Meditation, I thought it was hokey. A bit like sending hopes and prayers out into the universe. The Metta meditation asks that we begin to share benevolent thoughts for others and ourselves. Taking a few minutes to quiet ourselves with some breathing and mindfulness, we consider some simple phrases: May you be safe…May you be healthy…May you be happy…May you live with ease and grace. We begin the practice by bringing up...