Costigan

Do you ever wonder if your parents graduated magna cum laude from Guilt University. Do you ever suspect that they majored in Suffering with a minor in Acting Out of Control. All the while earning high grades for other maneuvers that make you feel guilty instantly. I m making light of something serious to make a point. That point is that we keep many of these guilt-provoking techniques in a place deep within us that affects our outlook, self-worth and future behavior. Imagine a forest alive with trees that are growing taller year by year. Then, one day, a woodsman comes in, ax in hand and swinging hard. The damage he does to the health of the forest is extreme, harsh, and long-term. Now think about these statements, some of which may sound familiar: How could you do this to me. Some day you ll realize what I ve done for you. I hope your children do to you what you ve done to me. Just as the...

Lately, while watching a reality television show, I was amazed on how the aging anxieties people share are portrayed through their broadcasted actions. From botox injections to cosmetic surgery, women and men are battling against the fact that they are not getting any younger as time progresses. During a later dinner festivity with a group of friends, I expressed my amazement on how popular these shows are and tried to comprehend why people experience this aging journey as something one should avoid or at least lessen its negative implications. But, in my point of view, the greatest battle is not the one a terrified individual gives with his or her bodily changes. Attaining a specific spiritual stage to consciously cope with this challenging aging process is the most important step one must take. A person should not feel guilty for being conscious of the fact that as years go by the once...

It was ordinary prescription contact lenses that had the greatest impact on my daughter s life. Allowing her to swap her glasses for contact lenses in her middle teens was possibly one of the best things we have ever done for her. Her whole character changed for the better so when she expressed an interest in color contacts we were more than happy to investigate. My daughter had to wear glasses from a very early age because she is very long sighted. She also had to wear an opaque patch over one eye for an hour a day for years to correct a lazy eye . The reason for the patch was to encourage the lazy eye to work better. It worked but it took months and months as I remember it. Neither the glasses nor the patch did anything for her confidence and so she spent most of her early years as a quite, self-conscious mouse of a girl. This quiet character persisted into her early teens, long after the...

The terroir is a group of vineyards or vines from the same area which have a common soil and climate. And nowhere else, other than Burgundy in France, is it held so fondly. Burgundy is a region situated in central east France, which experiences bitter cold winters matched with beautiful warm summers. It is the home of 1.6 million inhabitants. Burgundy Bourgogne is famous throughout the world for its wines. Ranging from the vibrant red Pommard and Corton to the medium Beaune to the sparkling whites, the dry Chablis or Chassagne Montrachet, over 180 million bottles of some of the fines wines are made in this region. As an aftermath of the French revolution the vineyards belonging to the monasteries were broken down to smaller plots which exist even today. The finest quality wine, designated as Premier Cru is available from 600 of the vineyards in the region while 33 of them is credit to produce...