Do Accomplishments Bring Happiness?

Many children of authoritarian parents try very hard to do what their parents say, meet their parents’ expectations, make their parents proud, and excel at everything they try. When this doesn’t get them what they crave—love, a kind word, recognition—their inner world...

When Did You Last Really Dream?

As a young man, I spent all of 1974 traveling through Europe. Iceland, Ireland, England, the Netherlands, France, Hungary … all the usual and unusual suspects. During my six weeks in Ireland, I acquired a girlfriend—that was lovely. I was pulled off the night train,...

Slits in Nothingness Are Hard to Paint

[If you’d like to meet some of your fellow travelers, please come join my new Eric Maisel Community.] In talking about certain of her desert paintings, Georgia O’Keeffe once remarked, “Slits in nothingness are not very easy to paint.” Indeed. Being on the...

What Can Community Mean to a Lone Wolf?

What can community mean to a lone wolf? There is the story of a farmer who attended an auction where a painting of his farm was being sold. When the bidding was over and the painting had sold for a hefty price, the farmer exclaimed, “But he could have had the whole...