Tools

Written by Ben, Willow Center Alum "Why I buy a new pair of shoes for my sobriety anniversary... So the short answer - is because when April 9th rolled around last year (my 1 year [...]

May is Mental Health Month “Mental Health” is the common umbrella term to describe the spectrum of lived internal experiences from wellness to illness that all human beings find themselves on throughout their lives. It [...]

Those who know me are aware that I have always been (and always will be) an eccentric dresser, influenced by a personal fascination with vintage men’s fashion. It’s a hobby and an artform. Throughout my [...]

In 1943, well within the midst of the global atrocities and uncertainties of World War II, American psychologist Abraham Maslow introduced the world to an idea that has come to be known as the “Hierarchy [...]

Growing up, back when commercials interrupting live-aired television shows was still a thing, I remember a commercial for the office supplies company, Staples, that featured a big red “Easy Button”. A weary dad trying to [...]

Every morning shortly after my 2-year-old daughter wakes my partner and I up (at 6:15am sharp – oof), I take my daughter to the kitchen to begin the day. One of her favorite morning activities [...]

What kind of partner are you? A better way to ask this question is, “what is it like to be on the receiving end of you in a relationship?” We are often unaware of how [...]

Have you ever been called a “failure”? Or, have you ever thought of yourself as one? Maybe you had a bad day and took a drink after two years of solid sobriety. Perhaps you had [...]

Leadership expert John C. Maxwell published a book in 2007 titled “Failing Forward.” Throughout the book, Maxwell shares bits of truth and wisdom about this concept as it applies to our lives. When I was [...]

"What we call love is in its essence reverence for life." - German-French polymath, Albert Schweitzer I love Schweitzer’s sentiments in this quote. So often, when attempting to describe or define love, we use words, [...]

When we read or hear the word “reverence,” we often think about spirituality, faith and religious traditions, or higher powers. However, reverence has a much deeper and wider application than that. We revere our bosses [...]

It was January of 2017, just two years post-graduation from college. I stepped off the plane into the heat of New Delhi, India after 28 hours of travel, with a little bit of sleep and [...]

When I was in middle school, my family lived out in the country of central Indiana. My house was surrounded by corn and soybean fields on two sides, a privately owned elk farm/rescue on another [...]

As Halloween approaches, I find myself reminiscing about all of the silly costumes I have worn throughout my childhood (and adulthood, let’s be honest). One year, I was Frankenstein’s Monster, which required about an hour [...]

Growing up, I was an active member of my local boy scout troop. There were about 30 of us rowdy boys, each more eager to go on camping adventures than we were to spend time [...]