[DISCLAIMER] From when she was approximately six-months-old, until the week of her fifth birthday, I helped raise the daughter of the woman with whom I was in love. After marrying the woman, the dad of my stepdaughter insisted that she not refer to me as “dad,” “father,” or any derivative thereof. Therefore, she called me “my Deric.” Admittedly understating the matter, I loved her very much! Nevertheless, when my wife left me, contact with the little girl I’d helped raise

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit (edited), property of Philips, fair use Within my blog, I often reference my late mother. Despite her flaws, of which there were many – though perhaps no more so than my own, she wasn’t a good or bad person. She was merely a fallible human being, as am I. Therefore, any interpretation I have of her behavior is subjective. One act which was personally favorable regards how my mom used to sing when cleaning our home, holding me close, or whenever h

[DISCLAIMER] In the early part of 2008, life was going rather well for me. I was comparatively fit, I had a high-paying job, I’d been paired with a relatively intelligent and conventionally attractive girlfriend, and I’d purchased a brand new Honda Civic that was completely paid off eight months later. While at work one day, I listened to an AM broadcast of a female evangelist whose name now escapes my mind. She said something to the effect of, “There’s a reason the winds

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Ancient and modern Stoics tend not to shy away from the topic of death. Colloquially speaking, someone is said to be “gone” once they die. After a relatively lengthy period of time has passed, one

[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n

[ DISCLAIMER ] When listening to an electronic dance music (EDM) DJ set by Allia Sounds and Dimitri Aless , I heard the duo open with the song “ The Future ” (2025) by Ankhoï and Luch . In repetitious order, the lyrics states: We hold hands, as if nothing has changed I go forward, you come back to me We don’t have long to rearrange The future’s not what it used to be While viewing these lyrics through the proverbial lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT),

[ DISCLAIMER ] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy , this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman . Per one Stoic source , “You spend your present moment agonizing over a future tragedy that’ll likely never happen. If it does happen, you’ll have suffered twice . If it doesn’t happen, y

[ DISCLAIMER ] While on voluntary appellate leave from the Marine Corps, after experiencing administrative and legal problems , I relied heavily on a family for support. Though we weren’t biologically related, they were the family with whom I lived after my residence at a children’s home in my youth. Between their two adult-aged daughters, there were six young boys who I viewed as my unrelated “nephews.” When engaging with them in the moment, I lost sight of my military w