Jed Thorpe, CMHC

People naturally bond or connect with other people. This happens with close acquaintances, family, lovers, co-workers, etc. Fortunately, there are exceptions to whom we create bonds with - otherwise, we'd have much stronger emotional reactions to random people we meet in life. For a genuine bond to take place, we need to have some desire to connect with or gain acceptance from the other person. A bond is different from a connection. Connections happen like courtesy nods or hand shakes. Bonds...

A lot of you may not remember Fred Rogers . He was a little before my time, but I do remember him. At first glance, he came across as a sweater-wearing, dorky, middle-aged guy hosting an oddly persistent puppet show for kids. As a kid myself, I watched if nothing better was on—DuckTales, G.I. Joe, or really any  cartoon. Still, I must have watched more than I realized, because I’ve got “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood”  permanently etched into my brain. And I wasn’t alone. Mr. Rogers...