Lifestyles

Small spaces with little way out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, present a real test to any marital relationship. Will sheltering-at-home result in increased marital strain and divorce in America as it has in China, where divorce rates have already increased sharply during the COVID19 pandemic? Iran has witnessed significantly increasing marital detachment since the quarantine went into effect in that country. The UK is also vigilant with the British Parliament warning to expect a spike in divorce. The chatter among matrimonial-family law and relationship experts in the United States is to anticipate similar tribulations in marriage during this country’s extended confinement. [Michael Mantell, Ph.D]

Seems that with WAZE, Google Maps, and other similar apps everyone these days has their own “navi” system. Only problem is, the other day I plugged “Happiness” into one of these and the app exploded! I asked Siri, Alexa and even my Apple watch…no help. Could COVID19 have infected my course-plotting devices? Of course not. But during these sheltered-at-home days, any journey out needs to be swift, calculated and well-planned. That’s when it hit me. I needed to rely a better GPS system, one that’s guided me well in the past and surely would do so during these emotionally strained times. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

Simple annoyance, fiery rage, and loss of temper, with its emotional and physiological mayhem, so mess with your life that it’s time to prevent, not just manage the thunder. Sure quarantine, masks, gloves, hand washing, that itch on your cheek you aren’t supposed to scratch, kids at home all day long, and the ever-present threat of catching COVID19 can get to the calmest of us. Lashing out in anger over even the smallest slight or obstacle only makes sense if your goal is to strip yourself of peace while inflaming your bitterness and indignation. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

Henry David Thoreau once shared that he had three chairs in his home, “…one for solitude, two for friendship, and three for society.” Doesn’t that provide you with remarkable insight into the value of a chair?  Chairs provide comfort, stability, relaxation, style and for Thoreau, “…solitude, friendship and society.” During this time of emotionally charged home quarantine, I’m concerned that a chair for many may also pose a corner of isolation, inactivity and ultimate gloominess. You see, as Benjamin Franklin observed, “The discontented man finds no easy chair.” [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

This may be the latest “health supplement” on the block, but it’s been around for thousands of years, hasn’t it?  You bet it’s been around for thousands of years. In Psalm 100-4, we read, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.” Even during these “sandpapering” times of COVID19, maybe especially during these times, we are being asked to look within with gratitude for the opportunity to thrive and grow. One with a grateful lens sees the proper response to this challenge being to prioritize our social connections, our network with others, and to serve each other, for the benefit of the other, for ourselves, and for the greater world. [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]