Hey Reader! It's been millions of years since our lives depended on being suspicious of everything, yet our negativity bias lingers. And those with ADHD are even more likely to fixate on negative news. With so much of the world in upheaval, being constantly on the alert can be exhausting. So, this week's challenge is an antidote to all that gloom and doom. Capture good things as they happen I keep an open mason jar beside a pad and pen in my bedroom. Whenever something cool or delightful...
11 days ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader! When you were a kid were you allowed to feel your feelings? Or did you feel you needed to act happy and make everyone laugh? Were you threatened with a beating if you cried? Or encouraged to pretend you weren’t feeling bad because it might make others feel bad? There are so many lessons we learn when we’re young from our family. One of the hardest lessons to unlearn is that it’s bad to share our feelings. That being emotional at all is a bad, weak or womanly thing. Holding onto...
18 days ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader! When Jews fleeing Egypt stood at the water’s edge, what did they feel? In those moments before the Red Sea’s waters parted, did they wonder if God had abandoned them? Were they ready to die rather than return and submit themselves to Pharoah’s yoke? Shabbat Shirah: The Sabbath of Song This past weekend, I had the honor of participating in a multi-faith sabbath of song, celebrating the liberation of the oppressed. This decades-long tradition, involving musical artists from Baptist,...
25 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader! Before I get into this week's challenge, I wanted to ask you a favor. If you've read NeuroNet or Song of Lyran, please leave a review of the book on Goodreads, Audible, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you purchased a copy. It will help people find me -- right now, you can't search Kristi Casey on Amazon and find my books because I need 3 more reviews. Please help people find me and not Kristy Casey! What you write doesn't have to be complex. Short, two-word, five-star reviews...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader! Do you remember the story of Pandora’s Box? Pandora was left alone with a box and told not to open it. But, being a normal, curious human being, she did. To her horror, all the evils of the world rushed out. She rushed to close it, but all the evils escaped, except for one. Hope. Pandora shut the box, keeping hope locked tight within. That story always bothered me. Was it trying to tell us that hope was a good thing? Or was it intimating that it was the worst evil of them all?...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader! Last night, I met with my synagogue's director of music and spiritual arts to rehearse a solo I'm working on for our choir's next concert. Before I sang, we discussed my goals. I told her I wanted to create an interesting melodic variation and ensure I could support it vocally without straining. She encouraged me to stay physically grounded but lighten my vocal approach. This 'light touch' would keep me agile and prevent me from getting too stuck in the known melody. Playing helps...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader! I just returned from Houston, where I saw Brené Brown speak to an audience of event professionals. Best known for her book Dare to Lead, Brown is a researcher, storyteller, and (in her words: currently enraged) Texan who’s spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. Although she spoke for only 45 minutes, days later, I'm still considering potential applications. So, here's a few thoughts to chew on. I'll share others in the following weeks. To...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader! Did they ever make you read William Golding’s Lord of the Flies in high school? In case you got to skip it, I’ll summarize: A group of schoolboys stranded on a desert island quickly devolve from well-behaved kids into murderous barbarians. That book has been translated into more than 30 languages, made into a film and helped win its author a Nobel Prize for literature. But it also reinforces a stereotype about human behavior that isn’t true. You see, Golding’s story is based on...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader! I invite you to pause and reflect before we head into the new year. Consider these questions: What do you want to leave behind? What do you want to bring forward? What do you want to achieve? There’s a twelve-night ritual that stretches from the end of December through early January that my friend Frauke introduced me to. It helps me identify what I want to focus on and what I can let go of. It’s called Rauhnächte (rough or smoky night). Its origins come from the 11 days/12 nights...
2 months ago • 1 min read