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What is narcissism?

I frequently hear people say that someone whom they know is a narcissist. | am not sure that they are all using the same definition or criteria to make that judgment. What do psychologists mean when they say that someone is a narcissist? Where does the name come from? I have heard of two versions about where the name narcissist came from. To roughly summarize them, one version is that a man in ancient Greece named Narcissus was obsessively and consistently looking at and admiring the reflection of his face in mirrors. This obsession was a punishment by Nemesis, the goddess of ...

Enjoying my oyster stew

Food is many things: flavors, textures, smells, an excuse to use your fingers to clean a bowl that was used to mix chocolate cake batter. But food is also memory. It’s a time machine, resurrecting recollections that had shriveled like an orange peel on a scorching summer sidewalk. Oyster stew does the trick for me. Every Christmastime, my parents would whip up a big kettle of oyster stew. I was the only one among my seven siblings who would sip some stew with our parents. Which was just dandy; more for me. When December’s deep cold arrives something deep within me stirs, ...

Thinking about food

My wife Pam says that I think about food a lot. Once I get this column started, I plan to eat a pumpkin muffin that is out in the kitchen. I’m looking forward to that. At various times in my life, I’ve been chunky to a tad overweight. You don’t get to be that way without thinking about food. There are some cookies in the cupboard in case that muffin isn’t enough. Speaking of thinking about food, we are midway between the two big dinners of the year: Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was thinking about those. Of course. You could rank Easter dinner up there. But I’d put it ...

Somalian residents should be respected as true Americans

In the past several weeks Minnesota’s Somalians have come under political attack originating in our nation’s highest office. President Trump and his radical conservative supporters have asserted that Somalians defraud the government and send money to terrorists. He’s called them garbage. He’s said they should be sent back to Somalia. He’s acted on his rhetoric by dispatching federal agents to their Minneapolis neighborhood to check on immigration status. He’s done that even though local and state officials haven’t asked for federal help. Minnesota Republican ...

Hurtful words are a bold time for people of faith to act

As a pastor who lives in a state that is home to as many as 84,000 people who are of Somalia descent, hearing our president call them “garbage” goes beyond disheartening. In fact, it’s immoral and can in no certain terms be likened to how Jesus lived his life, nor what he preached to his followers. In the 1st century, or now. … And it’s important as people of faith for us to say so. This controversy has raged for more than a week now. But for people who proclaim to be followers of Jesus, there is no basis for this hateful speech in Christianity, nor in general civil ...

Very young kids dealing with trauma

What bad things could possibly happen to children in their first five years of life? What dramatic experiences could possibly happen to a child between birth and 5 years old? It turns out that there are many situations that can expose young children to trauma. Early victimization that can negatively impact how a child develops is more common than many people realize. Psychologists know that these very young children are more vulnerable to things like injury or even traumatic death then they will be later in life. It has been assumed that preschoolers, toddlers, and infants ...