Blog - Gary Stine

Two curious children looking into a cardboard box with expressions of wonder, uncertainty and surprise, symbolizing the excitement and creativity that arise from the unknown.

Effortless Clarity

How Uncertainty Generates Creativity

I was speaking with a client the other day about a big change in his life. He has entered a period of great uncertainty. A more precise way of saying this might be that he’s aware of a great deal of uncertainty in his life. Whether or not we notice it, life is always uncertain. This is a truth most of us shy away from. We equate certainty with security, and most of us would probably rather believe the factors in our lives that matter to us have certainty built into them.

An older man deep in thought, resting his chin on his hand, with a solemn expression and a shadow cast on the wall behind him, reflecting the weight of pain.

Emotional Ease

What Does Pain Have to Teach Me This Time Around?

During the past years, and without really wanting to do so, I’ve developed a deep understanding of what it’s like to live with constant physical pain. This understanding has nothing to do with the science behind pain, it’s about the experience of living with pain as a constant companion. I decided a long time ago that it was in my own best interests to learn what I could from pain that might make my life, and perhaps the lives of others, a bit easier.

Effortless Clarity

Are Acceptance and Surrender the Same Thing?

How often do you hear someone say, when they’re trying to come to grips with a situation, “I’m working on accepting that?”

A distressed woman sitting against a gray wall, holding her head in her hands, reflecting feelings of uncertainty and worry about the year 2025.

Emotional Ease

Is 2025 Really More Unpredictable Than Other Years?

Does 2025 seem to you to contain more uncertainty than any year that came before? The general sentiment I hear expressed seems to confirm that many of us feel this way. But that sentiment ignores several incontrovertible truths.

What Happened to the Sense of Aliveness I Felt as a Kid?

Recently, I had an experience that reminded me of the power of sheer, unbridled aliveness. If you’re not sure what I mean, I’m talking about the sense of aliveness you feel coming from very young children. Most of us would likely say the sense of aliveness we experience is, at best, a diluted version of what we felt as children.

You’re Always at Your Best When You’re Thinking Least About Yourself

I’ve always loved Thanksgiving, and it’s always seemed to me a much less complicated-feeling holiday than Christmas is. I especially like the point of Thanksgiving; slowing down to be thankful, and reflecting on just how many things, especially small things you have to be grateful for.

A woman jumping joyfully in front of a mountainous landscape, capturing the sense of freedom, gratitude, and happiness.

Love & Presence

The Surprising Relationship of Gratitude and Happiness

Emotional Ease

If You Don’t Believe What I Believe, You’re a Bad Person (Part 2)

In the first part of this blog, I talked about how we have come to believe if someone has beliefs that don’t align with our own, they must be a bad person.

Emotional Ease

If You Don’t Believe What I Believe, You’re a Bad Person (Part 1)

“This is part one of a two-part blog.

Here we are several days after the most bruising Presidential election in my lifetime, and somehow, we’re all still here. And somehow, we have to find a way to live in the same country with people whose beliefs on almost every issue clash with our own.”

Reflections on Aging, Clarity, and Living Well