loving art, science and creative kids
10/24/2026 11:24:26 AM
MYSTERY
Democracy Under Pressure: Lessons from America's Past
This election cycle feels like one of the tensest I’ve experienced. I worry that the democracy I know is under attack as leaders challenge democratic norms and concentrate power.It is difficult to accept policies that threaten health care and food assistance for struggling families. It is equally troubling when access to information is restricted and public statements conflict with established facts. I fear a future in which wealthy industrialists wield disproportionate influence over our government. At least, that’s how I see it. But America has weathered bitter political battles before. How do today's divisions compare with some of the most contentious presidential elections in our history?
1800: A Constitutional Deadlock: Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, both Democratic-Republicans, tied with 73 electoral votes each. The House of Representatives had to break the deadlock, taking 36 ballots before Jefferson prevailed. The crisis led to the Twelfth Amendment, which required electors to cast separate votes for president and vice president. Political rivalries can turn deadly. In 1804, Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. No matter how deeply divided we are today, I don't believe violence is the answer to our nation's problems.
1824: The “Corrupt Bargain”: Andrew Jackson won more popular and electoral votes than any other candidate, but no one secured an electoral majority. The House chose John Quincy Adams. When Adams subsequently appointed Henry Clay secretary of state, Jackson's supporters accused the men of making a corrupt bargain. Jackson ran again in 1828—and won.
1860: An Election That Tore the Nation Apart: Abraham Lincoln won the presidency with about 40 percent of the popular vote. His opposition to the expansion of slavery made him unacceptable to many Southern leaders. South Carolina seceded weeks after his victory, followed by other Southern states. The Civil War began in April 1861. The election also led to his untimely death. This election reminds us that when political divisions become irreconcilable, the consequences can extend far beyond the ballot box.
1876: A Compromise with Lasting Consequences: A special commission settled the disputed election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden in Hayes's favor after awarding him the contested electoral votes. Political negotiations produced the Compromise of 1877, which included the withdrawal of remaining federal troops from the South. The end of Reconstruction weakened federal protection for formerly enslaved people and helped pave the way for decades of segregation and disenfranchisement. A political compromise may resolve an immediate crisis, but we must also consider who pays the price.
2000: Five Weeks of Uncertainty: The contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush came down to Florida, where a narrow margin triggered recounts and lawsuits. The Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore effectively ended the recount. Bush won the Electoral College, although Gore received more than 500,000 additional popular votes nationwide. The election demonstrated how a small number of disputed ballots in one state can determine the outcome of a national contest.
2020: A Challenge to the Peaceful Transfer of Power: Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump amid a pandemic and deep national divisions. Trump disputed the results, alleging widespread election fraud. Courts rejected numerous legal challenges, and election officials certified the results in their jurisdictions. On January 6, 2021, as Congress counted the electoral votes, a mob of Trump supporters, with his encouragement, stormed the Capitol and interrupted the proceedings. Congress later reconvened and certified Biden's victory. The attack was a sobering reminder that democracy depends not only on election laws but also on a willingness to accept lawful outcomes and resolve disputes without violence.
Midterm Elections also Changed America
The 1866 midterm became a referendum on Reconstruction and on Johnson, who had alienated many Republicans. Anti-Johnson Republicans won overwhelmingly in both chambers of Congress, giving them the two-thirds majorities needed to override the president’s vetoes. Over the next two years, Congress ratified the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing equal protection under the law. The 15th Amendment protected voting rights for all men regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
The 1934 midterms were a win for the New Deal. Democrats in both houses of Congress gained seats, allowing the Social Security Act, the Wagner Act (which guaranteed collective bargaining), and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) to pass. Four years later, there was a conservative backlash over his attempt to purge his own party of anti-New Democrats.
Though Lyndon B. Johnson won a landslide victory in 1964 over conservative Barry Goldwater, the Democratic Party suffered a stinging midterm reversal. The civil rights acts Johnson touted fueled a Republican surge among Southern Democrats that lasted decades.
The midterms in 1994 marked a major shift in American politics, giving Republicans control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in 40 years. This was primarily due to President Bill Clinton’s unsuccessful push for healthcare reform and his “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy,” allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve in the military.
The 2010 midterms,s another big win for Republicans, were fueled by a grassroots conservative movement called the Tea Party. In the wake of the Great Recession, anger over government bailouts of large financial firms fueled a protest against government spending, the national debt, and President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The House losses were huge, though the Senate held its majority. Though the Tea party faded as a political movement, its anti-establishment politics influenced the Republican Party during Donald Trump’s rise to power.
Why History Matters Now
As we approach the November 2026 midterm elections, we are not choosing a president, but we are choosing the representatives who will shape our laws and help determine how our government operates. The stakes are significant.
Our history shows that democracy is neither automatic nor guaranteed. It depends on institutions that protect our rights, leaders who respect the law, a free press, and citizens willing to participate even when the political climate is discouraging.
This is one reason I write the Rightfully Mine series. My novels explore what happens when powerful interests put profit and control ahead of people's rights—to clean water, unpolluted air, safe food, and a voice in decisions that affect their lives. Although the stories are fiction, the underlying questions are real: Who holds power? Who is held accountable? And what happens when ordinary people refuse to accept injustice?
I don't expect everyone to agree on every issue. Disagreement is part of democracy. But protecting our right to disagree peacefully—and ensuring that our government remains accountable to the people—is essential.
Learn about the candidates. Question what you read. Check claims against reliable sources. Listen to people whose experiences differ from your own. And vote. Democracy isn't something we inherit once and can then take for granted. It is something we must work to preserve, election after election.
References:
Pruitt, S. (2016). Most Contentious US Presidential Elections.HIstory. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/articles/most-contentious-u-s-presidential-elections
Roots, D. (2026) 5 Misdterm elections That Changed America. History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/articles/5-midterm-elections-that-changed-america
I look forward to your thoughts in the comment section below.
Mystery is available for sale through my website, If interested go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/3288831/mystery#/
Purchase the Rightfully Mine Novels to understand why access to clean water and unpolluted air should be considered a right notraded on wall street. purchase books go to https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Books+by+Marilynne+Eichinger
10/16/2026 3:49:11 PM
FAMILY OUTING
Family: The More, the Merrier?
I grew up in a traditional family: a mother, a father, three siblings, and lots of relatives. My grandparents played an important role in my upbringing. Grandpa, an amateur photographer, taught me to process film in his basement darkroom. Grandma took me to the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra’s children’s concerts. Afterward, we would stop for lunch—waffles smothered with ice cream. I can almost taste them now.
As a young woman, I dreamed of marrying early and raising at least six children in what I considered a medium-sized family. I made it to five, never imagining that in my late thirties I would launch a career as demanding as helping my children grow into the caring, competent adults they are today.
Last weekend, I attended a granddaughter’s wedding. Counting my children, their spouses, my grandchildren, and their partners and children, we numbered nearly thirty. Add the children and grandchildren I've adopted, along with their challenges and successes, and life is never boring!
Finding My Own Way. It would have been easy to get swallowed up in family responsibilities and lose my identity. But I came of age during the women's movement and wanted to discover who I was beyond my role as a wife and mother. I also wanted to prove that I could make my own way in the world.
It wasn't easy. When I started my museum, all the board members were men. Most ran companies whose boards were also dominated by men. Business and university clubs often excluded women. Business trips to the Caribbean and Baja Peninsula could involve heavy drinking and prostitution, while women were left outside these circles of professional influence. It was a man's world, and women had a long way to go to gain equal footing.
As I built my career, my children became part of the generation known as latchkey kids. The older ones were in high school and the younger ones in middle school. They sometimes came to the museum, helping in the gift shop or serving as guides. The younger children enrolled in museum-sponsored classes.
Still, I wasn't home when school let out, which was often when trouble started. I created a family problem box where the children could put their complaints. After dinner, we'd pull them out and discuss solutions together. It worked—at least some of the time!
Like many working parents, I was learning to balance a career with family responsibilities. There were competing demands, occasional guilt, and plenty of improvisation. Somehow, we made it through.
Families Change. The women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s challenged traditional expectations about marriage, employment, and child-rearing. Greater access to birth control and changes in the law gave women more choices about their lives.
Family structures have continued to evolve. Today, families include married couples with children, couples without children, single parents, unmarried partners, multigenerational households, and same-sex couples. There are also those who create families through adoption and close personal bonds.
According to Pew Research Center, in 1970, about 67 percent of Americans ages 25 to 49 lived with a spouse and at least one child under 18. By 2023, that figure had fallen to 37 percent. Americans are marrying less often, having children later, and having fewer children overall.
Economic pressures, housing costs, career goals, changing expectations, and the difficulty of finding a stable partner all play a role. These choices have consequences. Fewer children may mean fewer workers supporting a growing older population, while adult children increasingly find themselves caring for aging parents as they raise their own families and manage demanding jobs.
Affordable child care, paid family leave, and tax credits could ease some of the pressure on parents. But family decisions are personal, and there is no single arrangement that works for everyone.
What Matters Most? For me, one of the greatest rewards of a large family is the way people reconnect. At the wedding last weekend, the room reverberated with happy chatter. Parents, children, cousins, and relatives caught up, shared stories, and celebrated a new beginning. With Zoom and FaceTime now available, I know many will stay connected long after the party ends.
I'm grateful that I had my large family when I did. I love watching the generations grow and seeing relationships develop in ways I could never have imagined when I was a young mother.
Of course, having a big family doesn't mean there aren't problems. But when someone hits a stumbling block, there are usually people ready to help. We celebrate one another's successes and try to show up when life gets difficult.
But a large family isn't the only way to find connection. Some people are only children, live far from relatives, or have family relationships that aren't close or supportive. In those circumstances, building a community may take extra effort. Friends, neighbors, and chosen family can also provide love and encouragement. The people who show up for us are the ones who matter most, whether or not we're related by blood. A strong community helps us weather life's unexpected turns and reminds us that we don't have to face everything alone.
I left the wedding feeling fortunate—not simply because my family is relatively large, but because it is close. For a few hours, surrounded by people who cared about one another, I felt at peace. I had followed the right path for me, and I was content.
What I hope everyone can find is a circle of people who make life richer, funnier, and a little easier to navigate. If you're lucky enough to have a large family, enjoy it. If your circle is smaller, nurture the people in it. And if you need to build your circle from scratch, it's never too late to start. After all, the best part of family isn't how many people are in the room. It's how glad you are to see them when they walk through the door.
References
Pew Research Center. The Modern American Family.
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/09/14/the-modern-american-family/
Pew Research Center. Family and Relationships.
https://www.pewresearch.org/topic/family-relationships/
I look forward to hearing about your family, whether biological or created.
Art is always for sale through my website. FAMILY OUTING can be fond at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/3044972/family-outing#/
The Rightfully Mine Series speaks this genration, urging our youth and young adults not to give up the right to clean water, air, and safe foo. They are inalienable righta. Once they understand what is at stake, hopefully they will be moved to do something about it. To purchase books for your children and grandchildren, go to AMAZON
10/13/2026 9:36:52 AM
Floating in Space.
Am I successful in portraying a sense of wonder and mystery in outer space with this painting? Is that enough, or is it only successful if someone purchases it?
Success Is Finding a Reason to Move Forward
How do you measure success? Winston Churchill is thought to have said, “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm,” and that “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” These quotes capture an important truth: success can depend less on our achievements than on our willingness to keep going.Resilience and mindset are at the heart of these messages. Rather than an uninterrupted string of victories., success is the ability to recover from setbacks, learn from mistakes, and find the determination to try again. Ongoing enthusiasm bridges the gap between failure and eventual achievement.
Many of the goals I achieved were met simply because I persisted, pursuing my dream despite adversity and the nay sayers encouraging me to stop. Most of those were well-meaning friends and family concerned that I would fail, lose money, or become distraught. Instead of listening to them, I learned how to deal with failure.
The inability to cope with failure is an obstacle that keeps many people from trying. From childhood, we're taught to avoid failure and we rarely analyze the causes and discuss it openly, fearing embarrassment or humiliation. It's easier to hide our disappointments and not try than admit that something we tried didn't work.
I think that approach is misguided and a sad way to go through life. Failure happens to all of us. Why push it into our subconscious and pretend it never happened? Our failures are stepping stones that can teach us lessons. The challenge is to enjoy the process, use what we learned and move forward.
A famous Thomas Edison quote says, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Whether or not those were his exact words, his experimental approach to invention illustrates the point. He conducted thousands of experiments and worked on many inventions before developing a commercially practical incandescent lighting system. What others might have considered wasted effort, he treated as part of the process.
People sometimes stop trying because they're exhausted or discouraged, not necessarily because their goal is out of reach. When the going gets tough it’s time to double down or decide if your goal needs to be altered.
Building my first museum was a minefield of rejection, setbacks, and failed attempts. At times, I wondered whether it would ever succeed, especially given Lansing’s political climate at the time. But circumstances change. Politicians change. People gradually begin to understand what I was trying to accomplish, and some become my strongest supporters. That doesn't mean the road got easier. As the museum developed, new obstacles appeared involving permits, financing, and staffing. Just when one problem seemed resolved, another emerged. I remember when a winter storm deposited so much snow, the roof collapsed.
What kept me going were the small victories: the smiles on children's faces when they experienced an “aha!” moment while using one of our hands-on exhibits, and the encouragement of friends who volunteered their time. Those moments made the struggle worthwhile. Eventually, I stopped dwelling on the months when my efforts seemed to accomplish nothing. What I loved most about museum work was making displays that made visitors think. Yet, I soon realized that developing interactive exhibits wasn't the hardest part. It was persuading the public to embrace the idea of a hands-on science museum and getting them to support it.
Years later, I encountered a similar challenge when I began a writing career after retirement. People sometimes asked, “Why bother trying to get published? Write for your own enjoyment. Sure, improve your writing if you like, but don't worry if your books don't sell.” The more I heard this advice, the more determined I became to ignore it. I wasn't writing simply to keep busy and improve my writing skills, yet that was important. I had something to say about the right to clean air, water, and safe food, and wanted people to look at these human rights with fresh eyes.
Environmental concerns are easy to ignore when they compete with the demands of everyday life. Still, I believe our planet needs us to become better caretakers. I’ve read dozens of nonfiction books filled with facts and figures about the problems the earth faces. But facts alone don't necessarily change minds. The question in my mind that keeps me going is much the same as it was when I started a museum: How do I reach people who aren't already interested in the environment or science and persuade them to pay attention?
That’s a puzzle that continues to challenge me. I've learned a great deal about climate change and continue to hone my writing skills, but marketing still drives me crazy. Some independent authors spend tens of thousands of dollars promoting their books. I don't have that kind of money, so I keep looking for other ways to reach readers.
Am I a successful writer? I've won national and international awards, yet I'm still largely unknown. I hear from plenty of people who promise to make my books famous, provided I hire them. Unfortunately, many of these offers come from people more interested in my money than what I'm writing.
I continue to improve my craft and enjoy speaking to reading clubs. But I'll admit that I no longer have the enthusiasm for marketing that I once did. I want to write books that make people think, not spend my days trying to convince them to buy those books. If I don't overcome that reluctance, I can't succeed—or can I? If hundreds of people are enlightened by what they read, is that enough to say I’m successful? Do I need thousands?
That's my story. What's yours?
What have you tried to accomplish that required perseverance in the face of repeated setbacks? Did you pursue a sport when you were younger, only to give up when progress became difficult? Did you start a career believing you would reach the top of the organization, then abandon that ambition halfway through because the sacrifices seemed too great? Or perhaps you pursued a personal dream that others didn't understand.
Did persistence pay off in ways you never anticipated? During the process did your goals change? Did you discover that a different direction made more sense? Perseverance doesn't mean stubbornly pursuing every ambition forever. Sometimes success means recognizing that the path you were on isn’t viable and it’s time to change course.
So what is success? Thomas Edison became a celebrated inventor and businessman whose work helped transform modern life. Winston Churchill, after a long and often turbulent political career, became Britain's wartime prime minister and won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his historical and biographical writing. Their achievements were monumental. Both men left lasting marks on the world.
Most of us will never receive that level of recognition. We may never become famous, change the course of history, or see our names celebrated in books. But we still set goals, overcome obstacles, learn new skills, and find ways to contribute to the world around us. Those pursuits give meaning to our days. Small victories bring satisfaction. The people we meet on the way, the ideas we share, those we help, and the challenges we overcome can provide more satisfaction than public recognition.
My advice? Don't spend too much time worrying about whether the world considers you successful. Decide what matters to you, pursue it with determination, and take pleasure in the progress you make along the way. Perhaps success isn't reaching a final destination. Perhaps it's having a reason to keep moving forward.
I look forward to your comments below.
Art is always for sale through my web site. Interested in Floating in Space? Go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6696813/floating-in-space#/
References:
Wie.J. (2026). Many Of Life’s Failures Are People Who Did Not Realize How Close They Were to Success When They Gave Up – Thomas A. Edison. DUE. Retrieved from
10/2/2026 6:43:50 PM
SEE ALL
The painting is like a Rorschach Test. What you see may say something about your personality.
Who Makes Life Fun?
Who do you like to spend time with? And what’s your definition of fun? Is it jumping into a pit filled with plastic balls and trying to make your way through it? Or climbing a rock wall secured to a tether? Playing a round of golf? Perhaps you’d rather sit on a beach, watch the sun set in a magnificent array of colors, and enjoy the quiet.
We all have different ideas about what makes life enjoyable. Some people gravitate toward humor, spontaneity, and adventure. Others prefer a good conversation, a creative project, or the simple pleasure of watching the world go by. What one person considers exhilarating, another might find exhausting.
Psychologists and personality researchers have devised numerous ways to categorize these differences. But do these classifications tell us what we really want to know? Can they predict whom we enjoy spending time with or what we consider fun?
Consider the Myers-Briggs personality system, which identifies 16 personality types based on four pairs of preferences. The categories include the practical Logistician, the analytical Logician, the imaginative Architect, the outgoing Entertainer, and the adventurous Entrepreneur, among others.
I confess that I find reading the entire Myers-Briggs list almost as entertaining as taking the test. We may recognize ourselves in some categories and our friends in others. Yet knowing someone's personality type doesn't necessarily tell us whether that person would enjoy a spontaneous road trip, a lively party, or an afternoon spent reading a book. If curious, explore the categories and take a personality test at 16Personalities.
Another system classifies people according to behavioral tendencies, motivations, or traditional astrological signs. The Type A and Type B framework, developed by cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman in the 1950s, initially focused on behavior patterns in relation to heart disease. The Enneagram describes nine personality types, each associated with characteristic motivations and challenges. Astrology groups the twelve zodiac signs into four elements—fire, air, water, and earth—each with its own traditional personality traits.
Then there is the distinction between introverts and extroverts, popularized through the work of psychologist Carl Jung in the early twentieth century. Introverts tend to appreciate quieter settings and time alone to recharge, while extroverts generally enjoy social interaction. Many of us fall somewhere between the two. We might love a crowded party on Saturday night and crave solitude on Sunday morning.
These systems offer different ways of thinking about ourselves, but none can tell us everything about what makes us happy. They don’t tell who our preferences change with our moods, circumstances, and companions.
So what actually makes something fun? In her book The Power of Fun, Catherine Price identifies three elements of true fun: playfulness, connection, and flow. Playfulness involves being lighthearted, curious, and humorous. Connection comes from feeling engaged with other people. Flow occurs when we become so absorbed in an activity that we lose track of time. This perspective shifts the emphasis away from personality labels and toward what we experience.
Fun isn't necessarily about being outgoing, adventurous, or funny. It can emerge when we're fully engaged in something we enjoy, especially when we share that experience with others. Our emotional circumstances matter, too. Someone who feels lonely may experience social activities differently from someone who already feels connected to others. Simply putting people together doesn't guarantee they'll enjoy themselves. The quality of the interaction matters.
What does all this add up to? First, get to know yourself. Notice which activities leave you energized and which leave you drained. Do you enjoy competition, exploration, creativity, conversation, or quiet contemplation? Do you prefer planning an outing or deciding what to do on the spur of the moment?
Get to know your friends better. You may have one friend who loves hiking, another who enjoys discussing books, and a third who can turn an ordinary dinner into an evening of laughter. You don't have to share every interest to enjoy one another's company. Most importantly, don't expect one person to satisfy all your social needs. The friend who's perfect for a spirited debate may not be the one you want beside you while watching the sunset. And the person who enjoys a quiet afternoon with you may be reluctant to join you on a rock-climbing adventure.
Friendship doesn't require us to be alike. It requires us to appreciate our differences, find the experiences we enjoy together, and allow one another room to be ourselves. Perhaps the secret to having more fun isn't finding people with the right personality types. It's discovering what makes us feel most alive—and finding the people with whom we can share it.
I look forward to your thoughts in the comment section below.
See All is avaiable for sale through my website. If interested, go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/5558644/see-all#/
Questions? Contact me at [email protected].
References:
Rung, R.. (2025). Is there a List of All Personality types? Healthline. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/list-of-personality-types
Price, C. The Power of Fun. copyright © 2021, randomhousebooks.com. ISBN 9780593241200
Reis,, H., O’Keefe,S & Lane,R. (2018) Fun is More Fun when Others Are Involved. National instate of Health Library. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5597001/
Website Myers-Briggs overview. Myers & Briggs Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/myers-briggs-overview/
Website. 16 Personalities. Take the Test. Retrieved from https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types
9/26/2026 1:26:25 PM
Flickers Caring for Their Young
Human Rights Begin With a Livable Planet
I’ve always been told never to argue with a friend or relative about politics. Usually, I try to follow that advice. Recently, however, a friend and I had a heated discussion about something that surprised me. We weren’t really arguing about politics. We were arguing about priorities. She told me she couldn’t be as concerned about the environment when there are so many violations of human rights happening around the world. How, she asked, can we worry about forests and climate change when people are being imprisoned, tortured, displaced, and killed?
My friend got me thinking. She mentioned the recent shooting of a Venezuelan DoorDash delivery driver in Austin, Texas. On September 20, 2026, Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, was shot during an encounter with immigration enforcement officers. He was wounded, hospitalized, and then transferred into federal custody. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation.
Whatever the investigation ultimately determines, the image of a wounded man in handcuffs is disturbing. Human rights matter. But the more I thought about our argument, the more I realized that I don't believe we have to choose between human rights and the environment. They are the same conversation. Climate change can seem abstract when we talk about rising temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide. It becomes something very different when we see what it does to an individual human being.
In June 2024, 27-year-old Adam Willson died in his Tucson, Arizona, home during a period of extreme heat. Adam had a medical condition that made him particularly vulnerable to high temperatures, and his mother cared for him full-time. When their swamp cooler broke down, she couldn't afford to repair it. Nearly every day that June topped 100 degrees, with 14 days reaching at least 105. One morning, Debbie Willson went into her son's room to wake him for a doctor's appointment. He was dead. His death certificate listed "unknown natural causes," not heat. His mother believes the heat contributed to his death. An NPR investigation found that deaths like Adam's are frequently missed in official statistics because heat often isn't identified as a cause of death.
In western Alaska, the danger looked very different. In October 2025, Steven Anaver was inside his home in the Yup'ik village of Kwigillingok when floodwaters lifted the house from its foundation and carried it away with him still inside. Furniture floated around him. The walls shifted like the sides of a boat. The house drifted roughly a mile before coming to rest near the riverbank, where neighbors rescued him. Anaver later described himself as being inches from death. The storm displaced more than 2,000 people in western Alaska, and entire homes were swept away.
And this month, in the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, seven-year-old Lucy Allison Mike, her grandmother Elsie Begay, and family friend Dora Franklin were killed in a flash flood. They had been returning from shopping for Lucy's upcoming eighth birthday when their vehicle became stuck in mud and rapidly rising water swept them away.
Three stories. Three very different parts of the country. Three reminders that extreme weather isn't an abstract concept when you are the person caught in it. When one person is shot, we see the person.We see the blood. We see the handcuffs. We see the family grieving.
Climate-related suffering is different. A family loses its home in a flood. A community is evacuated. A person dies during a heat wave. Each tragedy can disappear into a statistic. But the people are real. One person, we understand. Millions of people become a concept. That may be why environmental suffering doesn't always generate the same emotional response as an individual act of violence.
The United Nations recognized the connection between the environment and human rights when it recognized access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right in 2010. In 2022, the General Assembly recognized the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
These aren't simply environmental issues. They are human issues.
We don't have to choose—and we shouldn’t. This is where I think my friend and I were actually closer in our beliefs than we realized. She was looking at the individual. I was looking at the system. But both matter. I don't believe caring about the environment means caring less about people. I believe it means recognizing that we cannot separate human beings from the world that sustains us. This is one reason I wrote the Rightfully Mine series. I believe everyone deserves the basic conditions necessary to live a healthy and secure life. Protecting those conditions means protecting the world around us.
If we care about our neighbors, shouldn't we care about the conditions in which they live? If we care about children, shouldn't we care about the world we are leaving them? And if we care about human rights, shouldn't we care about the conditions that allow human beings to exercise those rights in the first place? Human rights begin with a livable planet.
I look forward to your comments below.
Art is always for sale through my website. If interested in Flickers Caring for their Young, click https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/2694223/flickers-caring-for-young#/
References:
Press release. (2025) “Thirst as a weapon”: Unexperts condemn Israel’s deliberate dehydration and starvation of the Palestinian People. United Nations Human Rights Commission, Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/thirst-weapon-un-experts-condemn-israels-deliberate-dehydration-and
Moore, S. ( 2026 website) Water as a Weapon, The Water Center, University of Pennsylvania . Retrieved from https://watercenter.sas.upenn.edu/
Website. (2025) Public Health Situation Analysis-occupied Palestinian territory. World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/public-health-situation-analysis---occupied-palestinian-territory-September
The Human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment: resolution/ adopted by the General assembly 2022. United Nations Digital Library. Retrieved from https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3983329?ln=en.html&utm_source=chatgpt.com&v=pdf
Website. ( 2025) UNHCR report reveals extreme weather driving repeated displacement among conflict-affected communities. UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/us/news/press-releases/unhcr-report-reveals-extreme-weather-driving-repeated-displacement-among?utm_source=chatgpt.com
9/18/2026 5:02:09 PM
Flying High:
Microscopic COVID viruses in 2019, impacted the lives of millions worldwide.
Small Things, Big Impact
We often think our lives are changed by major events—a graduation, a wedding, the birth of a child, the loss of someone we love. Yet when I look back, it isn't the dramatic milestones that shaped me most. It is the small moments, almost invisible at the time, that quietly redirected my life.
I remember when my one-year-old son finally learned how to navigate the six carpeted steps leading to our living room. Instead of tumbling down headfirst, he discovered that if he turned around and backed down, he could descend safely. It may have been only six stairs, but to him it was a monumental achievement. He climbed up and down them more than two dozen times before we finally pulled him away.
To an adult, mastering six steps hardly seems noteworthy. To my son, those stairs represented freedom. Suddenly, a whole new part of the house belonged to him. For me, it meant keeping a much closer eye on an adventurous toddler. Looking back, I realize those six little steps also taught me something: life's biggest transformations often begin with the smallest victories.
Many of my own turning points began just as quietly. I first became aware of prejudice while planning my eleventh birthday party. My mother told me I could invite every girl in my sixth-grade class except one—I'll call her Janine. She was the only Black girl in our predominantly white suburban classroom. Janine and I were playground friends, and I wanted her to celebrate with us.
My mother explained that Janine's birthday fell on the same day as mine, so she was probably having her own party. Even at eleven, I sensed that wasn't the real reason. I remember feeling confused, disappointed, and deeply uncomfortable. I had imagined a birthday cake with both our names on it. Instead, that simple conversation became one of the clearest memories of my childhood. It also became one of the most influential. That brief exchange awakened a lifelong sensitivity to racism and bigotry. I worried that Janine might feel rejected. Perhaps she did. We remained playground friends, but she never visited my home.
Years later, while I was in college, I encountered a quotation by Anatole France that quietly changed me once again: "Even a little dog is the center of his own universe.” Those few words transformed the way I viewed other people. I began to understand that every person experiences life through a unique collection of memories, joys, disappointments, and struggles. Just as no two fingerprints are identical, no two people interpret the world in exactly the same way. Over time, those countless experiences shape our personalities, our beliefs, and our values. That simple quotation made me slower to judge and more curious to understand.
My life also changed through the gentle influence of the people closest to me. Before the women's movement became part of everyday conversation, many girls grew up expecting to marry, raise children, and build a home. That was my dream as well. I planned to be the best wife and mother I could be, leaving the wider world largely to my husband.
Instead, my husbands gradually expanded my world. They introduced me to science, the arts, and travel. They encouraged my curiosity and supported me as I developed a career of my own. More importantly, they demonstrated the value of embracing the unknown instead of fearing it. None of those lessons arrived with fanfare. They came through countless conversations, shared experiences, and quiet encouragement. Looking back, I can see how those small influences accumulated until I became a stronger, more independent woman.
After two twenty-year marriages to wonderful men ended, I wondered whether I could continue growing on my own. I had learned from them how to live fully, but now I had to prove it to myself. Traveling alone, driving long distances, striking up conversations with strangers, speaking honestly, and standing up for causes I believed in did not come naturally. Each challenge seemed small by itself, but together they slowly built confidence. Growth, I discovered, isn't usually one giant leap. More often, it is a series of tiny acts of courage.
For the past thirty years, I have shared my life with someone whose interests differ from mine in many ways. Yet he, too, has quietly changed me. His love of the natural world deepened my own appreciation for forests, wildlife, and wild places—an influence that now finds its way into the novels I write.
When I look back over my life, I don't see a handful of dramatic turning points. I see hundreds of seemingly ordinary moments: a toddler mastering six stairs, an uncomfortable conversation with my mother, a quotation in a college classroom, words of encouragement from those I loved, small risks that gradually became larger ones. Individually, none of them seemed life-changing. Together, they became the stepping stones that led me to the person I am today.
What I write is true of the political world as well. Consider John Kennedy’s death and the World Trade Center’s collapse. One moment in time had world shattering consequences forevery one alive at the time.
Perhaps the same is true for you. Take a few minutes to look back over your own life. What small conversation, chance meeting, book, teacher, disappointment, or act of kindness quietly changed your direction? We often overlook these moments because they seem so ordinary. But when we connect them, we begin to see that our lives are shaped less by life's grand events than by the countless small experiences that, little by little, become who we are. My thanks to the people who shaped my life and made me stronger.
I look forward to your comments below.
Art is always for sale and can be purchased through my website. Go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/3589866/flying-high#/
The second book in The Rightfully Mine Series, Antheia in the Thorns, is a Manhattan Gold Award winner. It follows The Water Factor, an International Firefly Award winner. Both books are filled with clips from my life, the people I met, the events I witnessed. Antheia in the Thorns was inspired by an event that occurred forty years ago. My husband and I were leaving a state park and passed men dumping barrels of sludge into a pond. Instead of stopping or at least calling the police, we raced from the scene, afraid of being caught. Perhaps Jen Russo’s journey is what I wished I had done instead of running away like a coward.
Books can be purchased by clicking AMAZON.
9/11/2026 7:38:08 PM
SURF'S UP
Between the Waves
Life is a restless sea.
We rise with the waves,
lifted toward the sky,
believing, for a moment,
we might stay there.
Then the wave breaks.
We tumble into darkness,
caught in the undertow,
reaching for something solid
beneath our feet.
Love lifts us.
Loss pulls us under.
Hope carries us toward the crest.
Fear waits in the trough.
We rise.
We fall.
The sea gives nothing
that it does not take away.
Nothing stays.
Nothing holds.
Yet again we rise,
and still we reach
for the next wave.
Perhaps that is what it means
to be human—
not to find still water,
but to live between the waves,
to be carried upward,
pulled below,
to again find our way
back to the surface.
Uncertainty Between the Waves
These thoughts held me captive this week. A man I hired off an ad to fix a badly damaged car for a woman without resources did a magnificent job. He was proud of his work, as were we. The cost was half of what it would have been in an automotive repair shop. The man was between jobs, looking for a more stable situation. I gladly paid the last $1,500 in cash when he returned the car to its owner. As he left, he placed the envelope on his dash and set off to buy parts for another vehicle. The afternoon was warm, and while on the highway he opened the window for fresh air. Within seconds, the envelope flew out the window. And though he stopped and searched as best he could on the fast-moving, busy road, it was nowhere in sight. His moment of high turned into fear and self-loathing. He wondered if life was worth continuing.
His experience reminded me that instability isn't a flaw in life. It is the nature of life itself-a theme discussed by philosophers through the ages. We are never standing in the same place because, like the sea, everything around us is always changing. Our struggle isn't that life is unstable, but that we expect it to be stable. When it isn't, we blame all sorts of things, focus on the downside, and fall into depression.
The Greek Philosopher Heraclitus is famous for the idea that everything is in flux. The world isn't fixed; it is continually changing. His philosophy is often associated with the saying, "No one steps in the same river twice." The river-and the person stepping into it-are different from one moment to the next. We are nearly standing in the same, but like the sea, we are always changing.
Impermanence is central to Buddhist philosophy. Instead of promising certainty, it teaches us how to live with uncertainty skillfully. By recognizing impermanence, letting go of attachment to fixed outcomes, and embracing life's ever-changing flow, one can cultivate peace in an unpredictable world. Rather than seeing uncertainty as a problem to solve, Buddhism reframes it as a profound truth to be realized. The wise do not fear uncertainty; they walk the Middle Way, finding liberation in the freedom of not knowing.
Stoicism goes further, saying that instability is unavoidable, but our response to it is not. The Stoics, particularly Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, emphasized the distinction between what we can control and what we cannot. The world will throw us onto the peaks and into the troughs. We cannot control the waves, but we can work on how we meet them. While Heraclitus tells us the world continuously changes; the Stoics ask how we should live in a changing world.
Nietzsche took the idea in a more challenging direction. He rejected the belief that life should be comfortable, orderly, or free from struggle. He saw suffering, change, conflict, and uncertainty as part of becoming who we are. His idea of amor fati-"love of fate"-suggests embracing what happens rather than merely wishing circumstances were different. This leads to a powerful question. What if we stopped asking life to become stable and learned to love the waves? What if they make us wiser?
Existentialist philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus recognize that no foundation is guaranteed beneath us. Each of us must make make choices and create meaning despite uncertainty. Camus especially emphasizes the absurdity and uncertainty of our existence. As I wrote last week, our lives on Earth are a mystery. We don't get guarantees, yet we have to live anyway. There are ways to manage the stress that comes with uncertainty.
Contemporary thinkers John Kay and Mervyn King wrote Radical Uncertainty. They distinguish risk, which can sometimes be calculated, from radical uncertainty, where we simply don't know what the future will bring. The world is so complex that scientists and economists can only give us insights. They can not tell us what to do. The final decision is ours. We aren't merely riding waves whose height we can predict. Sometimes we don't even know what wave is coming.
It feels to me like the world and our country in particular are riding waves that rise and ebb with increasing frequency. It has become harder to measure the risks and even harder to know how to manage them. Yet, there are ways you can take to reduce stress, ways to reframe that help mediate anxiety and depression. Get in touch with your feelings, then widen your view through meditation and activities that connect you to humanity.
References:
Kay, J. King & M. ( 2020) Radical Uncertainty: Decision-Making Beyond the Number. WW. Norton& Company LTD. London. ISBN 978-1-324-00477-6
Website (2026)The Buddhist Concept of Uncertainty: An In-Depth Exploration. Deep Dharma; Retrieved from https://www.deepdharma.org/the-buddhist-concept-of-uncertainty-an-in-depth-exploration/
Website ( 2026) Embrace the uncertainty. Daily Stoic. Retrieved from https://dailystoic.com/embrace-the-uncertainty/
Website (2024) Existential uncertainty: how it affects your mind - and what you can do about it. https://theconversation.com/existential-uncertainty-how-it-affects-your-mind-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-241197
Pollak,S. The Only Thing Certain is Uncertainty. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-art-now/202111/the-only-thing-certain-is-uncertainty
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Art is always for sale. The Blame Game is available for purchase at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-art-now/202111/the-only-thing-certain-is-uncertainty
Questions? Contact me at [email protected]
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Though change is a constant, we navigate through it, working towards and outcome that is tolerable. My books demonstrate different way, people navigate through life to overcome adversity. BOOKS BY MARILYNNE EICHINGER CAN BE PURCHASED THROUGH AMAZON. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.
9/4/2026 3:26:41 PM
THE GREATEST OF MYSTERIES
Where do we come from? What are we?
Where are we going?
Life is a riddle and a mystery.
Mystery, mystery.
The congregation I belong to occasionally sings this song as a round during services. Whenever we do it, the lyrics start me wondering about the universe and my place in it. The questions are as old as humanity itself. Where did we come from? Why are we here? What are we? Where are we going? Does what we do—and the way we live—matter in the greater scheme of things?
For thousands of years, human beings could see only a tiny portion of the universe with their own eyes. They watched the sun cross the sky, the moon change shape, and the stars appear each night. They could not know that the stars were distant suns or that many of those stars were orbited by planets of their own. Today, astronomers have confirmed thousands of planets beyond our solar system, and the Milky Way is thought to contain billions of planets. Yet we still have no evidence that life exists anywhere beyond Earth.
The mystery has changed, but it has not disappeared. Where did we come from? It is a question humans have always struggled with because we seem to have an almost irresistible desire for certainty. Creation myths may have helped people make sense of a world they could not explain. Archaeological discoveries give us glimpses into ancient civilizations and the ways they understood their existence. The details differ enormously, but many creation stories ask the same fundamental questions that science asks today: How did the world begin? What existed before it? And how did we come to be part of it?
The ancient world: In ancient Mesopotamia, the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish begins with primordial waters. The freshwater god Apsu and the saltwater goddess Tiamat give rise to other gods. Eventually, conflict erupts, and the storm god Marduk defeats Tiamat. He divides her body to form the heavens and the earth. Humanity is later created from clay mixed with the blood of a defeated god, with humans given the task of serving the gods.
The story is striking not because it resembles modern cosmology, but because it reflects an ancient attempt to explain how order emerged from chaos.
Hindu traditions offer a very different vision. Rather than describing a single creation followed by a single ending, many Hindu cosmological traditions envision an immense cycle of creation, preservation, destruction, and renewal. Brahma is associated with creation, Vishnu with preservation, and Shiva with destruction and transformation. The universe passes through enormous cycles of time rather than moving along a single, irreversible timeline. One of the most fascinating ideas in Hindu cosmology is that this universe is not necessarily the first—or the last. Creation and destruction are part of a continuing cosmic cycle. That concept has influenced Hindu thought about life, death, and reincarnation, although it would be an oversimplification to say that one creation story alone explains practices such as vegetarianism.
Raven and the creation of the world: The creation stories of Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest are many and varied, and they should not be treated as though all tribes share a single mythology. One story that has always fascinated me comes from the Haida tradition.
Raven is a powerful and complicated figure—trickster, transformer, and creator. In one well-known story, Raven discovers the first humans inside a giant clamshell on a beach and coaxes them out into the world. The story was famously interpreted by Haida artist Bill Reid in his sculpture The Raven and the First Men. Other Northwest Coast traditions tell stories of Raven bringing light into a world that was once dark. In Tlingit tradition, for example, Raven releases the sun, moon, and stars that have been kept hidden away.
I include the Raven story for another reason. My partner, a totem-pole and mask carver and I used to tell this particular story when we performed at public gatherings. For me, it is more than an ancient creation myth. It is part of a living cultural tradition that I have had the privilege of encountering personally.
The Abrahamic traditions: The creation stories of Judaism and Christianity are found in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis, over seven days, God creates the heavens and the earth, separates light from darkness, creates the land and seas, vegetation, celestial bodies, animals, and finally human beings. The first humans, Adam and Eve, live in the Garden of Eden until they eat from the forbidden tree and are expelled. Islam also teaches that God created the heavens and the earth six days, but the Islamic creation account as found in the Qur'an varies slightly from the Genesis narrative. There is no day of rest. Creation occurred during six distinct cosmic phases or stages of development. The Qur'an states that time is relative to God and that a 'day" can equal 50,000 years or more. He chose to unfold the universe slowly to establish the laws of nature, cause and effect, and to serve as a lesson in patience for humankind.
A world born from eggs: The creation story in Finland's national epic, The Kalevala, could hardly be more different. Ilmatar, a spirit or maiden associated with the air, descends into the primordial waters. A water bird, often identified as a duck or goldeneye, mistakes her raised knee for a piece of land and builds a nest there. It lays seven eggs—six golden and one of iron. When the heat of the nesting eggs becomes unbearable, Ilmatar moves, and the eggs fall into the sea and break apart. Their fragments become the earth, sky, sun, and moon.
It is a beautiful image: the universe emerging from the broken pieces of eggs. And perhaps that is part of what creation myths do so well. They take something unimaginably large and mysterious and give it a form the human mind can grasp. Despite their differences, these traditions share a profound conviction: the universe is not meaningless. It has an origin, and human beings have a place within a larger order.
The mystery remains: Every culture seems to have wrestled with the same fundamental questions. Today, scientists are approaching those questions from a very different direction. Telescopes allow us to look billions of years into the past. We know that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, and we have compelling evidence that it has been expanding from an extremely hot, dense early state. But the Big Bang theory does not provide a simple answer to the question, "What happened before?” In fact, scientists do not yet know whether that is even a meaningful question in the way we normally understand it. Our current theories can take us astonishingly close to the beginning, but they do not tell us what caused the initial expansion or what, if anything, preceded it. NASA notes that scientists are still unsure what came before cosmic inflation or what powered it.
The mysteries do not stop there. How did the first living organisms arise from nonliving matter? Why did life emerge on Earth? Is life common throughout the universe, or are we extraordinarily rare? We have discovered thousands of planets beyond our solar system, but so far Earth remains the only place where life is known to exist. And then there is perhaps the most intimate mystery of all: How did matter become conscious? We can look outward through increasingly powerful telescopes. We can look backward through the fossil record and the geological history of our planet. We can examine cells, genes, atoms, and galaxies. Yet after all we have learned, we still cannot answer the simplest questions with certainty; Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Does what we do matter?
Perhaps science will answer some of these questions. Perhaps new discoveries will reveal mysteries we cannot yet imagine. Or perhaps the mystery itself is part of what it means to be human.
Where do we come from? What are we?
Where are we going?
Life is a riddle and a mystery.
Mystery, mystery.
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I look forward to knowing what you think about the universe and your place in it. Comment below.
Art is always for sale through my website. https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6655778/the-greatest-of-mysteries#/
Questions? Contact me at [email protected]
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Resources:
Website (2026) Creation Myths Indept.Timeless Myths. https://www.creationmyths.org/#myths
Website (2026) Hindu Creation Story. Holy Cross College. Retrieved from https://college.holycross.edu/projects/himalayan_cultures/2006_plans/sswift/Hinducreationstory.htm
Website. Creation story as told by Charlie Depoe in 1900. Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington. Retrieved from https://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/
Website. Spirits of the West Coast Gallery. Retrieved by https://spiritsofthewestcoast.com/en-au/blogs/news/the-many-stories-of-raven
Website (2026) Creation, cosmogaphy, and cosmology. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Finno-Ugric-religion/Mythology#ref533361
Website (2026) Can We Find Life? NASA Retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/can-we-find-life/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Website (2026) Big Bang. NASA. Retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/science-behind-the-discoveries/hubble-big-bang/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Website (2026) Early Universe. NASA. Retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/early-universe/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
The breakdown of the six periods comes directly from the Qur'an.
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Why would a God create such a beautiful planet that puts people on it who pollute and deplete its resources? It doesn't make sense. To read about the impact of greed on the lives of ordinary people delve into the Rightfully Mine Series. My books bring to life what happens when people don’t act honestly with compassion, creating a world of suspicion and crime. Is that how you want to live. Like my characters, you can do something about it. Would you like me to give a book talk to your group? Book topics cover water, air and ocean pollution, logging, youth homelessness, and science museums?
To purchase books go to https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Books+by+Marilynne+Eichinger
8/29/2026 11:35:17 AM
People transfer their trust to animals, knowing they act consistently and don’t lie.
What Happened to Trust?
There was a time in my life when I believed a person’s word was sacred. It was an unsigned contract I could depend on. In the business world, a handshake was enough. If someone gave me their word, I trusted that they would follow through.
As a child, I believed my parents would always be there for me, propping me up when I made a mistake. As an adult, I trusted my spouse completely. When he said he would do something, I knew he would. I expected the same from my children. Their word had to mean something.
I’m not sure I could live that way today. After I won the Gold Manhattan Book Award, my inbox filled with hundreds of messages from people claiming to represent famous podcasts, radio programs, authors, publishers, literary agents, and marketing companies. Many were scammers using names and identities that appeared legitimate. I read them because every so often there was an honest communication among them. But that meant checking nearly everything out before I could believe it. What I discovered was disheartening. These people were using every trick imaginable to persuade me to part with my money.
The experience made me realize something I had taken for granted most of my life: trust makes life easier. When we trust people, we don't have to constantly question their motives. We can ask a neighbor to water our plants, lend a friend a hand, or believe that someone will keep a promise. Trust allows us to cooperate without continually wondering what might go wrong.
And yet Americans have become less trusting. According to a 2025 Pew Research Center study, only 34% of Americans say most people can be trusted, compared with 46% in 1972. Pew Research Center — Americans’ Trust in One Another That number bothers me. I remember a time when our front door was always unlocked. We didn't think twice about leaving it that way. Today, most people would consider that irresponsible. We are more cautious about strangers, our possessions, and even the information we receive. Some of that caution is certainly justified. Technology has given dishonest people tools that didn't exist when I was young. My experience with scammers is proof of that.
But we have also lost confidence in many of the institutions that are supposed to help us determine what is true. In 2025, Gallup reported that only 28% of Americans had a great deal or fair amount of confidence that newspapers, television, and radio would report the news fully, accurately, and fairly. Gallup — Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S. When people don't trust the news, they turn elsewhere for information. Increasingly, that means social media, friends, family, and neighbors. I understand that. I occasionally check Nextdoor, a neighborhood communication site, to hear about lost dogs, road closures, gardening tips, or neighborhood concerns. But if something seems controversial, I don't automatically believe it. I consider who posted it, whether there might be a bias, and whether I can verify it elsewhere.
Trust also affects our well-being. Research from the American Psychological Association found that people who trust others and institutions tend to report greater happiness and satisfaction with their lives. American Psychological Association — Trust in others, institutions boosts well-being. Perhaps that shouldn't surprise us. Constant suspicion is exhausting.
But trust isn't experienced equally by everyone. After George Floyd was killed, a Black friend told me he had stopped jogging. He was afraid someone might see him running and call the police. How different his experience of the world was from mine! For me, someone running down the street was simply someone getting exercise. For him, it had become something that could make him vulnerable to suspicion.
Trust is rooted partly in personal experience. If someone has experienced discrimination, betrayal, or exploitation, telling them simply to trust others isn't enough. Trust has to be earned. And yet, despite everything that makes me more cautious than I once was, I still encounter acts of kindness that restore my faith in people.
A few years ago, I was taking a pottery class. I had put my diamond engagement ring in my coat pocket and completely forgotten it was there. After class, I went shopping. While I was in the parking lot, I reached into my pocket for my gloves. I didn't realize my ring had fallen out. When I returned to my car with my packages, I discovered it was gone. I searched everywhere. Nothing. I left my name and phone number at the store's service desk and drove home shaking. I dreaded telling my husband that I had lost my engagement ring.
As I walked into the kitchen carrying the groceries, the phone began to ring. It was the store. A customer had found my ring on the ground and turned it in. It had been run over by a car. The setting was damaged, but the diamond was fine. I never discovered who found it, but I wish I had. I would have liked to look that person in the eye and say thank you. Instead, I thank that stranger silently whenever I think about it. Because it is a time when I often question how much trust I can place in other people, someone I didn't know keeps reminding me of something important: There is still goodness in the world.
Trust can't be demanded. It can't be purchased with a convincing email or created by passing a law. It has to be earned, one interaction at a time. Perhaps we can't return to the world of my childhood, when our front door stood unlocked and a handshake was enough to seal a deal. We can still teach our children to live honestly and that their word means something,
I don't want to live in a world where suspicion is the default. I'd rather be cautious without becoming cynical. I'd rather take the time to verify without assuming everyone is a fraud. And I'd rather believe that the stranger who finds a diamond ring in a parking lot might still do the right thing. Though trust may be fragile, it is also one of the things that holds us together.
Click on some the Pew and Gallop references.I find the statistics fascinating. I look forward to your comments. How has trustworthiness changed during your lifetime?
Art is always for sale. What a life is available for purchase through my website at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6312341/what-a-life#/
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My books bring to life what happens when people don’t act honestly with compassion, creating a world of suspicion and crime. Is that how you want to live. Like my characters, you can do something about it. Would you like me to give a book talk to your group. My books cover water, air and ocean pollution, logging, youth homelessness, and science museums ? Contact me at [email protected]
Books can be purchased online at To purchase books go to https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Books+by+Marilynne+Eichinger
8/21/2026 9:32:41 PM
Trees Most Majestic — Let’s Save Them
Who Owns What We All Need?
When I received the Silver Global Award, I was surprised to learn that my book had been entered in the political book category. I have always thought of my novels as eco-thrillers. Yet, after thinking more about them, I realized the judges had seen something I had not fully considered: environmental issues are inherently political because they are ultimately about power. Who owns the land? Who controls the water? Who has access to energy and other resources? Who profits from them? And who pays when those resources are depleted, or the environment is damaged?
Activist organizations like my fictional Antheia are, in many ways, political action groups. They try to influence public opinion, but ultimately their goal is to encourage people to elect politicians who will take a stand for clean air, clean water, healthy forests, and equitable access to natural resources.
Environmental politics is a recognized field of study, with international journals, university courses, and research devoted to the relationship among natural resources, government, economics, and society. At its heart is a deceptively simple question: Who has the power to control the resources we all depend upon?
The struggle over resources is hardly new. Land, water, minerals, timber, and energy have always been sources of wealth and conflict. Today, however, climate change, population growth, and increasing demand for energy and raw materials are creating new pressures.
Drought and desertification reduce arable land and available freshwater, intensifying competition among farmers, herders, communities, and nations. Demand for minerals such as lithium and cobalt has created new geopolitical competition over mining and supply chains. Some critics have even described the exploitation of resources in vulnerable countries by wealthier nations and corporations as a new form of colonialism.
Both The Water Factor and Antheia in the Thorns explore this imbalance of ownership and access. My next novel, Kingdom of Greed, will examine it even more directly.
Water may be the clearest example. We turn on a faucet and expect water to be there, but behind that faucet are rivers, reservoirs, aquifers, treatment plants, pipelines, electricity, governments, laws, and agreements among competing users. When those systems fail—or when governments cannot agree about who has the right to use a limited supply—water becomes a political issue.
The Colorado River demonstrates this problem well. Seven states and Mexico depend on the river, yet its water supply has come under increasing pressure from prolonged drought, climate change, and decades of use. Deciding who gets how much water is not simply an environmental question. It is a political one.
Natural resources and the infrastructure that delivers them can also become instruments of conflict. In Ukraine, attacks on energy infrastructure have disrupted electricity, heating, and water systems, demonstrating how essential resources can become targets during war. The conflict has also highlighted the strategic importance of oil, energy facilities, and other resources that help sustain a nation's economy and military.
Water can be weaponized as well. During the war in Gaza, restrictions and damage to water infrastructure have left civilians with severe shortages of potable water. Human Rights Watch has documented restrictions on water supplies and on materials needed to repair and operate water systems.
Oil provides another example of how control of a natural resource can have consequences far beyond the place where it is produced. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical passage for global energy supplies. Any serious disruption to shipping there can affect fuel supplies, transportation, food prices, and economies around the world.
These examples demonstrate something we sometimes forget: Environmental resources are not simply things we consume. They are sources of power. But there is another political question hidden in almost every environmental dispute: Who pays the price?
A company may profit from cutting a forest, mining a mineral, drilling for oil, or manufacturing a product. But what happens when the environmental costs are passed on to someone else? Who pays for the polluted river, contaminated groundwater, destroyed habitat, increased wildfire risk, or health consequences? The company may receive the profits while taxpayers, communities, future generations, or the natural world absorb the costs.
And then there is the question of future generations. Do we have the right to consume a resource simply because we can afford to buy it today? Or do we have an obligation to leave something behind for those who come after us?
These questions have become increasingly difficult in a politically divided America. There was a time when environmental protection was largely a bipartisan issue. Landmark environmental legislation was passed during the Republican administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford with significant bipartisan support. Over time, however, liberal and conservative views on environmental regulation began to diverge.
I don't believe the choice has to be between the environment and the economy. The economy depends upon the environment. We need water to grow food. We need healthy forests and soils to sustain ecosystems. We need energy to run our homes and industries. A stable climate supports the systems upon which modern civilization depends.
Perhaps that is why Antheia in the Thorns ended up in the political category. Environmental problems are not simply about trees, rivers, wildlife, or climate. They are about power, ownership, responsibility, and who gets to decide how the resources we all depend upon are used. They are also about who benefits from those resources—and who pays when the costs are ignored.
Those are political questions. And perhaps they are among the most important questions we face. PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENT SECTION.
Art is always for sale on my website. To purchase Trees Most Majestic go
https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/4075738/trees-most-majestic#/
References:
Urrea Vivas, M. (2024Political Ecology and Environmental Conflicts: The Struggle over Natural Resources.Harvard Advanced Leadership initiative in Social Impact Review. Retrieved from https://www.sir.advancedleadership.harvard.edu/articles/political-ecology-environmental-conflicts-struggle-over-natural-resources
Nawrotski, r.(2026) The politics of environmental concern: A cross-national analysis. National Library of Medicine. Abstract retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5017589/
Faculty (1921) Political Stability and Environmental Sustainability, Columbia University School of Professional Studies. Retrieved from https://sps.columbia.edu/news/political-stability-and-environmental-sustainability
News Release (2024) Isreael’s Crime of Extermination, Acts of Genocide. Human rights Watch. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/19/israels-crime-extermination-acts-genocide-gaza?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Harmash, O. & Voitenko, A. (2026)Ukraine endures its bitterest winter as Russian targets heating and power. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-endures-its-bitterest-winter-russia-targets-heating-power-2026-01-21/?utm_source
8/15/2026 4:44:57 PM
Afternoon Tea
I know a woman who collects teapots. Her pots come in all sizes and shapes and are scattered around the house. She said that when she makes tea for company, she selects a pot to match their personality.
Collectors and Hoarders
I’m a collector. So was my Mom, and so is my grandson. Apparently, collecting may run in the family.
I collect rocks, masks, Native American pottery, and art. Mom collected Wedgwood. When I lived in London for a year, she sent me money and asked me to visit antique shows and find good buys she could afford. My grandson started collecting antiquities when he was in elementary school. Among his treasures are military artifacts from the Second World War. My eleven-year-old adopted granddaughter has her own passion: squeeges. She not only buys them; she makes them. One of my aunts collected glass figurines. She inspired me to collect glass animals when I was a child. I suppose I have been collecting things for most of my life without ever asking myself why.
Then there is one of my friends, who lives at the opposite end of the spectrum. If something enters her home and isn't absolutely necessary or practical, she gets rid of it. Her tidiness has caused considerable anguish among her children, whose treasured possessions have mysteriously disappeared over the years. They have learned to hide some of their belongings behind furniture or under their mattresses. Clearly, we don't all have the same relationship with stuff.
Why do we collect?
Collecting is hardly a modern obsession. For centuries, people have filled their homes with stamps, coins, toys, books, art, antiques, fossils, military memorabilia, and countless other objects. Psychologists have offered many explanations for why we collect. For some people, collecting provides a sense of control and order in an uncertain world. Sorting, categorizing, and arranging objects creates a small universe in which everything has a place.For others, collecting is an escape. The search itself can be relaxing and absorbing—a welcome break from the stresses of everyday life.
Our collections can also tell a story about who we are. The things we choose often reflect our interests, memories, values, and experiences. A collection can become a kind of autobiography written in objects.
And then there is the thrill of the hunt. Finding an unusual piece can turn an ordinary Saturday into an adventure. Collectors visit antique shops, flea markets, auctions, estate sales, museums, and increasingly, online marketplaces. They search for that one elusive object they have been hoping to find. When they finally find it, there is a little rush of excitement: There it is. I've been looking for this for ages. After that, the hunt begins again.
For some collectors, nostalgia is the attraction. A particular object may remind them of childhood, a parent, a grandparent, or a place that mattered to them. Others are motivated by completeness. If you have 47 of the 50 stamps in a series, those missing three can become surprisingly important.
Collecting can also create community. Collectors share information, trade items, attend conventions, participate in online groups, and meet others who understand why a particular object matters. What might look like an ordinary piece of metal, paper, pottery, or glass to one person can be a treasure to another.
And then there is the pleasure of display.My masks are arranged on the wall of my office. About thirty Native American pots sit in a display case in my living room. Occasionally, I take them out so visitors can hold them and appreciate the craftsmanship that went into making them. My collections aren’t merely something I own. Collecting is something I enjoy.
There is another attraction for those who are financially astute: investment. Rare coins, vintage cars, antiques, and limited-edition artwork can appreciate over time. The possibility of making money adds another dimension to the hunt. Unfortunately, collecting also has a darker side.
When collecting goes too far
I once hired a finance officer who stole money from one of my businesses' petty-cash accounts to buy antiques for his partner. He eventually served time in prison. Another man I knew collected so many chiming clocks that his wife finally had enough and left him. And there are people who spend money they cannot afford because the need to acquire the next item has become stronger than their ability to resist it. That is where collecting can begin to cross a line.
Years ago, my brother had a neighbor who was a hoarder. He saved newspapers, magazines, bottles, string, and just about everything else. The piles became so high that narrow pathways were the only way to move from one room to another.
Unlike most collections, hoards don't necessarily consist of valuable or even useful objects. A person may save things that most of us would consider worthless. Some people buy items in bulk or order things online that remain unopened in their boxes. Eventually, the possessions take over the home—and the person's life.
Hoarding disorder is a recognized mental health condition characterized by a persistent difficulty discarding possessions, even when those possessions have little practical value. The resulting clutter can interfere with the normal use of living spaces and create significant distress or impairment. Research suggests that hoarding has genetic, neurological, and environmental components, but there is no single cause. Information-processing difficulties, anxiety, depression, attention problems, and other factors can play a role.
There is an important difference between having too much stuff and having a disorder. A collector generally takes pleasure in organizing, caring for, and displaying the things he or she has acquired. A hoarder may experience intense distress at the thought of getting rid of possessions, even when those possessions make the home unsafe or unusable.
Hoarding can be painful not only for the person experiencing it but also for the people who live with them. Families can become trapped between wanting to help and realizing that simply throwing things away doesn't solve the underlying problem. Professional treatment, including cognitive behavioral therapy, can help people make progress.
So, where do we draw the line?
Maybe the difference between a collector and a hoarder isn't simply how much we own. It is the relationship we have with what we own. My masks don't own me. My pottery doesn't prevent me from using my living room. I can admire my rocks without needing to buy every rock I encounter. The objects in my collection have meaning, but they don't control my life. Perhaps that's the real test.
We all collect something. Some of us collect objects. Others collect photographs, books, recipes, shoes, souvenirs, tools, or family heirlooms. Some collect experiences. Some collect memories. Yet some of us collect far more than we realize. Perhaps the question isn't whether we're collectors or hoarders. Perhaps it's what we're afraid of losing.
A collector may be afraid of losing a piece of history. A hoarder may be afraid of losing something that feels irreplaceable. Someone who throws everything away may be afraid of being trapped by possessions. We all have our reasons for what we keep and what we discard. Maybe our stuff tells us more about ourselves than we realize.
Where do I fall on the collector-hoarder spectrum? I'm not entirely sure. My masks are on the wall, my pottery is in a case, and my rocks are—well, let's just say they have multiplied. But I still know where everything is, and I can walk through my house without climbing over it. For now, I'm calling myself a collector. I'll let my children decide otherwise after I'm gone.
References:
Coombe, M. (2018). Thpsychology behind collecting. The Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/interiors/the-psychology-behind-collecting-1.3519826
McLeod, S. (2016). Collecting as a hobby. Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/collecting.html
Rust, J. (2020). The psychology of collecting and why people collect things. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/nostalgia-nation/202009/the-psychology-collecting-and-why-people-collect-things
Pike, J. (2026) Speaking of Psychology: Why people hoard, with Julie Pike, PhD. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/hoarding
Do share your stories in the comment section of my blog site at https://www.eichingerfineart/blog, For questions go to [email protected].
Art is always for sale. Afternoon Tea can be purchase on line by clicking https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/1372907/afternoon-tea#/
To purchase books go to https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Books+by+Marilynne+Eichinger
8/7/2026 7:31:57 PM
Emerging
Hidden within the fear of doomsday are light and clarity. They emerge when people join forces to confront the forces of human-caused global warming and work toward a better future.
Doom and Gloom: A Dangerous Conclusion
Spend a few minutes scrolling through the news or social media and you may come away convinced that humanity is doomed. Some environmental advocates warn that climate change has already set us on an irreversible path toward catastrophe. Others predict that civilization itself cannot survive. Surprisingly, this message echoes beliefs that have existed for thousands of years.
Many religions describe an end of the world. Christianity speaks of a period of tribulation before the return of Christ. Islam foretells a final struggle between good and evil before the Day of Judgment. Hinduism describes the end of one great cycle before the beginning of another. Buddhism teaches that future ages will bring renewal before the world eventually passes away. Although these traditions differ greatly, they share a common belief that history is moving toward a dramatic conclusion.
Science also acknowledges that nothing lasts forever. Astronomers know the universe itself has a finite future. The Earth has survived asteroid impacts, supervolcanoes, ice ages, and mass extinctions. Researchers also study risks posed by nuclear war, emerging diseases, artificial intelligence, and other technologies. Eventually, life on Earth will end. The question is not whether that day will come, but when.
Climate change, however, belongs in a different category. Unlike the eventual death of the Sun or a distant cosmic event, climate change is driven largely by human activity. Because people created much of the problem, people can also reduce its severity. We cannot eliminate every consequence, but we can influence how much the planet warms and how well our communities adapt.
The evidence that Earth's climate is changing is overwhelming. Satellites circle the globe measuring temperatures, ice cover, sea levels, and atmospheric gases with remarkable precision. Scientists have documented shrinking glaciers, warming oceans, rising seas, increasing ocean acidity, and more frequent extreme weather events. These observations come from thousands of independent measurements collected around the world.
Faced with such evidence, it is easy to fall into despair. Yet despair may be one of climate change's greatest allies. When people conclude that nothing can be done, they stop trying. History suggests the opposite is true. Humanity has repeatedly solved problems once thought impossible. We have eliminated diseases, restored polluted rivers, repaired the ozone layer, and developed technologies that previous generations could scarcely imagine.
The same spirit is now being applied to climate change. Renewable energy continues to expand. Buildings are becoming more energy efficient. Electric vehicles are becoming commonplace. Communities are planting urban forests, improving public transportation, protecting wetlands, strengthening water supplies, and preparing for more extreme weather. Scientists are developing cleaner industrial processes, better batteries, and new ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere. None of these actions alone is enough, but together they demonstrate that progress is possible.
NASA summarizes sustainability with practical goals that communities across the country are already pursuing: increasing energy efficiency, expanding renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving water, preventing pollution, improving recycling, constructing more sustainable buildings, and preparing for the effects of a changing climate. These are not distant dreams. They are projects already underway in cities, businesses, schools, and neighborhoods.
The greatest danger may not be climate change itself. It may be the belief that our efforts no longer matter. The opposite is true. They do matter a lot. The future has never been something we simply inherit. It is something we build. Every generation faces challenges that appear overwhelming. Ours is no different. We should take climate change seriously without surrendering to hopelessness.
As Sean ÓhÉigeartaigh from the University of Cambridge writes, “The literature suggests that the likelihood of human extinction from exogenous threats, where we have more robust data to draw on, is extremely low. For anthropogenic threats like pandemics and nuclear war, there is far greater uncertainty. However, through the lens of global civilization, we see that society tends to address these catastrophic threats by pooling resources and coordinating governance tools.”
Doom and gloom is not a solution. Neither is burying our heads in the sand. The better path is to acknowledge the problem, support practical solutions, and remember that history is filled with people who changed the course of events because they refused to believe that change was impossible. What you think, do, and say does matter. Chin up. Don’t give up.
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References:
ÓhÉigeartaigh, S. (2025)Extinction of the human species: What could cause it and how likely is it to occur?PubMed Central in National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11950659/
NASA website (2026) Is it too late to prevent climate change? Nasa. https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/faq/is-it-too-late-to-prevent-climate-change/
NASA website( 2026) Evidence. Nasa. Retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/evidence/
Website. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sixth assessment report.(2026) Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_TS.pdf
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________The The environmental issues facing our world inspired me to write the Rightfully Mine novels. Each book draws attention to specific environmental problems while exploring what it takes to address and ultimately solve them. The Water Factordelves into the social and political consequences of the corporate takeover of water. Antheia in the Thorns introduces readers to petcoke, a by-product of petroleum, and examines how burning it contributes to pollution and global warming. Kingdom of Greed, still in the editing phase, explores the destruction of forests and how they are exploited for private gain.
In today’s political climate, it can be difficult to stand up to corporations that fail to take climate change seriously. Yet change is possible. We can have hope. There are paths forward—ways to protect our environment while creating opportunities for everyone to prosper. Books can be purchased by clicking AMAZON.
Emerging is available for purchase through my website. www.eichingerfineart.com.
7/31/2026 11:11:20 PM
OPUS 4
Small Things, Big Impact
We often think our lives are changed by major events—a graduation, a wedding, the birth of a child, the loss of someone we love. Yet when I look back, it isn't the dramatic milestones that shaped me most. It is the small moments, almost invisible at the time, that quietly redirected my life.
I remember when my one-year-old son finally learned how to navigate the six carpeted steps leading to our living room. Instead of tumbling down headfirst, he discovered that if he turned around and backed down, he could descend safely. It may have been only six stairs, but to him it was a monumental achievement. He climbed up and down them more than two dozen times before we finally pulled him away.
To an adult, mastering six steps hardly seems noteworthy. To my son, those stairs represented freedom. Suddenly, a whole new part of the house belonged to him. For me, it meant keeping a much closer eye on an adventurous toddler. Looking back, I realize those six little steps also taught me something: life's biggest transformations often begin with the smallest victories.
Many of my own turning points began just as quietly. I first became aware of prejudice while planning my eleventh birthday party. My mother told me I could invite every girl in my sixth-grade class except one—I'll call her Janine. She was the only Black girl in our predominantly white suburban classroom. Janine and I were playground friends, and I wanted her to celebrate with us.
My mother explained that Janine's birthday fell on the same day as mine, so she was probably having her own party. Even at eleven, I sensed that wasn't the real reason. I remember feeling confused, disappointed, and deeply uncomfortable. I had imagined a birthday cake with both our names on it. Instead, that simple conversation became one of the clearest memories of my childhood.
It also became one of the most influential. That brief exchange awakened a lifelong sensitivity to racism and bigotry. I worried that Janine might feel rejected. Perhaps she did. We remained playground friends, but she never visited my home.
Years later, while I was in college, I encountered a quotation by Anatole France that quietly changed me once again: "Even a little dog is the center of his own universe." Those few words transformed the way I viewed other people. I began to understand that every person experiences life through a unique collection of memories, joys, disappointments, and struggles. Just as no two fingerprints are identical, no two people interpret the world in exactly the same way. Over time, those countless experiences shape our personalities, our beliefs, and our values. That simple quotation made me slower to judge and more curious to understand.
My life also changed through the gentle influence of the people closest to me. Before the women's movement became part of everyday conversation, many girls grew up expecting to marry, raise children, and build a home. That was my dream as well. I planned to be the best wife and mother I could be, leaving the wider world largely to my husband.
Instead, my husbands gradually expanded my world. They introduced me to science, the arts, and travel. They encouraged my curiosity and supported me as I developed a career of my own. More importantly, they demonstrated the value of embracing the unknown instead of fearing it. None of those lessons arrived with fanfare. They came through countless conversations, shared experiences, and quiet encouragement. Looking back, I can see how those small influences accumulated until I became a stronger, more independent woman.
After two twenty-year marriages to wonderful men ended, I wondered whether I could continue growing on my own. I had learned from them how to live fully, but now I had to prove it to myself.
Traveling alone, driving long distances, striking up conversations with strangers, speaking honestly, and standing up for causes I believed in did not come naturally. Each challenge seemed small by itself, but together they slowly built confidence. Growth, I discovered, isn't usually one giant leap. More often, it is a series of tiny acts of courage.
For the past thirty years, I have shared my life with someone whose interests differ from mine in many ways. Yet he, too, has quietly changed me. His love of the natural world deepened my own appreciation for forests, wildlife, and wild places—an influence that now finds its way into the novels I write.
When I look back over my life, I don't see a handful of dramatic turning points. I see hundreds of seemingly ordinary moments: a toddler mastering six stairs, an uncomfortable conversation with my mother, a quotation in a college classroom, words of encouragement from those I loved, small risks that gradually became larger ones. Individually, none of them seemed life-changing. Together, they became the stepping stones that led me to the person I am today.
Perhaps the same is true for you. Take a few minutes to look back over your own life. What small conversation, chance meeting, book, teacher, disappointment, or act of kindness quietly changed your direction? We often overlook these moments because they seem so ordinary. But when we connect them, we begin to see that our lives are shaped less by life's grand events than by the countless small experiences that, little by little, become who we are.
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Today, the second book in The Rightfully Mine Series, Antheia in the Thorns, is a Manhattan Gold Award winner. It follows The Water Factor, an International Firefly Award winner. My thanks to the people who shaped my life and made me stronger.
Books can be purchased by clicking AMAZON.
7/17/2026 11:43:02 PM
Kingdom of Greed the third book in the Rightfully Mine Environmental series is due out early next year. It gives a small glimpse into the way corporate America disregards the will of the people The novel is inspired by how the Trump administration is shrinking the size of our nation’s forests and parks and selling off its resources. Unfortunately, with so many critical social justice issues affecting citizens, people have not been paying attention to the impact resource extraction on public lands will have on the earth.
I am alarmed by a recent U.S. Forest Service proposed rule change that will narrow the public’s opportunity to comment on its programs and activities. The rule would eliminate any requirement for public notice, hearings, or comments that would uphold regulation. The administration appears to care more about deregulation that benefits extractors and real estate developers than the public good..Old growth and even young saplings that help keep the planet cool and pollution-free will give way to high-rises and paved parking lots. How can we allow this?
I ask myself, who benefits when communities are cut out of decisions regarding access, logging, timber sales, grazing permits, and mining exploration? Why should agency offices be allowed to bypass established ecological safeguards and environmental review frameworks? Why should internal rules get easier to waive, revise and even remove from public view?
These changes will help a very few companies, none of which have your best interests at heart. Before it is too late—act now. To understand the full extent of what is happening go to https://morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/forest-service-to-remove-your-voice
Like the characters in my eco-thrillers would say, “Act Now.” Go to the Public Comment section at the following website. Write to officials to oppose the rule change. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/01/2026-13281/organization-functio ns-and-procedures-public-notice-and-comment-for-standards-criteria-and-guidance
Do not just sign a petition! Remember that your personal comments in the scoping process can be used for later judicial review.
A last request for those of you who enjoy a good novel. I am looking for a handful of beta readers to for Kingdom of Greed. Rather than editing, I want to know if the story holds your interest and what you think of the characters. If interested, please contact me at [email protected]
Art is always for sale. Twenty-eight canvas prints of trees can be purchased on line for only $99 . Go to
https://www.eichingerfineart.com/collections/182747
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The Rightfully Mine Series makes summer reading exciting
. 
Purchase Antheia in the Thorns on Amazon
Purchase The Water Factor on Amazon
7/11/2026 1:55:24 PM
THE BLAME GAME - - Readying for a fight
THE BLAME GAME
After writing my last newsletter about overcoming adversity, I found myself thinking about William Ernest Henley's poem Invictus. Its closing lines have stayed with me for years:
"I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul."
Those words remind us of a difficult but liberating truth. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond. That is why I struggle when I hear someone say they drink, use drugs, or gamble because another person stresses them so much that they "can't help themselves." Stress is real. Heartbreak is real. Trauma is real. But none of these removes our responsibility for the choices we make. There are healthier ways to cope than self-medicating.
Guilt and shame often drive people to justify destructive behavior. Rather than facing painful truths, they search for someone or something else to blame. During my years of counseling people struggling with addiction, I found that many became remarkably skilled at explaining why everyone else was responsible for their actions. What surprised me most was that many hated the loss of control. They were embarrassed by what they had done while intoxicated and often shocked when family or friends described their behavior. Yet that very lack of awareness became another excuse to avoid taking ownership.
I remember treating a twenty-one-year-old man who insisted he didn't have a drinking problem. Although he agreed to enter a rehabilitation program, he believed none of what he learned applied to him. Two years later he called me at home. Through tears he told me he had caused a car accident that killed two young women. Yet he still insisted it wasn't his fault. He explained that he had attended a séance where a medium claimed to contact the two women. According to her, they had forgiven him and wanted him to know he bore no responsibility.
My heart broke for everyone involved. Whether the story was true or not wasn't the point. Forgiveness, if it exists, never erases responsibility. Until he accepted ownership of his actions, he had little hope of changing his life.
Blame is one of the mind's most powerful defense mechanisms. It protects us from painful truths by convincing us that someone else is responsible. If someone else caused the problem, then someone else must solve it. As long as that belief remains, there is little motivation to change.
Alcohol and drugs are not the only addictions that destroy lives. Gambling, compulsive gaming, pornography, and even work can become unhealthy obsessions when they consume relationships, finances, and personal responsibility. The object of the addiction changes, but the pattern of denial often remains the same.
The workaholic who blames the demands of the job for neglecting a spouse or children is no different from the gambler who promises that one more bet will solve the family's financial problems. Both sacrifice the people they love while convincing themselves they have no other choice.
Science helps explain why addiction is so difficult to overcome. Repeated substance use or compulsive behavior changes the brain's reward system. Activities that once brought joy—time with family, friendships, meaningful work, exercise, or serving others—begin to lose their appeal. Cravings grow stronger while judgment and self-control weaken. People continue using despite devastating consequences.
Understanding these changes helps explain addiction, but it does not excuse it. Recovery begins when a person stops blaming others and accepts responsibility for the next decision. That decision may be frightening, but it is also the beginning of freedom.
Family members often become victims as well. They walk on eggshells, wondering which version of their loved one will appear today. The addict may be kind and attentive when seeking money, forgiveness, or another chance, then become angry, manipulative, or abusive when confronted. Conversations become battles. Truth becomes distorted. Eventually family members begin questioning their own judgment.
Healthy boundaries are essential. You can love someone without accepting abuse. You can care deeply while refusing to carry responsibility for choices that are not yours. Though stress is real, it never excuses irresponsible behavior. The blame belongs to the person making the choice, not to those living with the consequences.
The encouraging news is that recovery is possible. Every day people reclaim their lives by facing the truth instead of running from it. The first step is not perfection; it is the courage to stop making excuses and begin taking responsibility.
Henley wrote Invictus while enduring tremendous suffering. His poem is not about denying pain but about refusing to surrender to it. None of us chooses every hardship we face. Some burdens are unfair. Some wounds are deep. Yet we still choose whether we will become bitter or better, whether we will blame or grow.
In the end, we may not be masters of our circumstances, but we remain responsible for our choices. That is what it means to be the master of our fate and the captain of our soul.
Invictus By William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
References:
Website. (2026) Why do Alcoholics Blame Others. The Discovery Village. Retrieved from https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/alcohol-abuse/why-alcoholics-blame-others/
Website (2026) Common Ways People with Addiction Manipulate Others. Gatewayy Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.gatewayfoundation.org/blog/common-ways-addiction-manipulates/
Art is always for sale on my website. First Fight can be found at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/1356530/first-fight#/
Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Jennifer Russo and her husband's poor communication skills cause their problems to spiral out of control in Antheia in the Thorns. After the death of her infant daughter, Jennifer retreats from the world, consumed by grief. Only through time, support, and a renewed sense of purpose does she find her way back. Her healing becomes the source of her courage, proving that those who have suffered deeply are sometimes the very people best equipped to stand up for others. For thrillers about social justice and the environment, turn to the Rightfully Mine series. Eichinger books are available on AMAZON.
7/2/2026 6:52:59 PM
I THOUGHT I KNEW YOU
As circumstances change, we change with them to become part of our life story.
Facing Adversity Head On
None of us knows what crisis lies ahead. A serious illness, the loss of someone we love, a natural disaster, financial hardship, or a betrayal can change our lives in an instant. While we cannot predict adversity, we are all born with an extraordinary ability to recover from it.
That doesn't mean the journey is easy. Painful experiences can leave us feeling overwhelmed and uncertain that life will ever be normal again. Yet resilience—the ability to adapt and move forward—is one of humanity's greatest strengths. It grows through experience, hope, and the support of others. Friends, family, and caring communities cannot erase our pain, but they can help carry us through it.
One remarkable example is Dr. Denis Charney, dean of New York's Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. After stopping for a bagel and coffee one morning, he was shot fifteen times in a murder attempt. Surviving the attack forced him to confront the very question he had spent years studying: How does a person recover from overwhelming trauma?
His research, along with that of many others, shows that traumatic events—assaults, accidents, betrayals, disasters, and the death of a loved one—can disrupt the brain's normal functioning. Neural connections involved in emotional regulation are affected, making it difficult to think clearly, remain calm, or feel safe. Brain scans reveal that adversity can send our internal alarm system into overdrive, leaving us anxious, hyper-vigilant, and emotionally exhausted.
Even if your own mistakes have brought about your suffering, guilt does not have to be the final chapter of your life; accepting the consequences, seeking forgiveness, and working to make things right are acts of courage that can begin the journey toward healing. If you believe you've ruined your life or your family's future, remember this: your loved ones need your presence, your honesty, and your willingness to rebuild far more than they need your perfection.
Recovery does not mean returning to the person you once were. Instead, it means creating a new equilibrium. Life may never look exactly the same, but it can still become meaningful, joyful, and fulfilling. Reaching that new place requires patience, courage, and the willingness to believe that healing is possible.
Psychologist Hara Estroff Marano offers nine practical strategies for building resilience.
Find inspiration. Look for someone who has walked a similar path. Whether that person is living, a historical figure, or someone whose story you've read, their experience reminds us that others have survived what once seemed impossible. Their example can help light the way forward.
Seek—and give—social support. Over the past month I've written about the importance of friendship because human beings are designed for connection. Without meaningful relationships, both our physical and mental health suffer. Scientists have found that supportive relationships trigger the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps calm the nervous system and reduces stress. Accepting help from others—and offering it in return—strengthens everyone involved.
Face your fears. Fear grows when we avoid what frightens us. Avoidance gives anxiety room to expand until it begins controlling our lives. Confronting problems, one manageable step at a time, allows fear to lose its grip. Deep breathing, gradual exposure, counseling, and other proven therapies have helped countless people regain confidence after trauma.
Challenge yourself. Choose something that stretches you without overwhelming you. Learning a new skill, volunteering, or accomplishing a meaningful goal reminds you that you are capable of growth. Success, even in small ways, builds confidence and quiets the brain's stress response.
Let go of the need to appear strong. One of the greatest myths is that resilient people never struggle. In reality, resilience begins by admitting when we're hurting. Give yourself permission to grieve. Spend time in nature. Meditate. Eat nourishing food. Build new friendships. Rest when you need to. Healing is not weakness; it is wisdom.
Exercise regularly. Physical activity benefits both body and mind. Exercise strengthens regions of the brain involved in learning, memory, and emotional regulation while reducing stress hormones. Walk, swim, dance, ride a bicycle—whatever brings you joy and keeps you moving.
Find meaning. This is perhaps the most important lesson I've learned as a lay minister. I've met many people who seemed to lose their desire to live because they no longer knew why they were living. Purpose gives direction to our lives. It changes over time. As young adults we may pursue an education or career. Later our purpose may become raising a family, serving others, or leaving the world a little better than we found it. During times of adversity, rediscovering purpose often becomes the turning point between merely surviving and truly living.
Reframe your thoughts. Years ago, I had a client who wore a rubber band around his wrist. Whenever he caught himself dwelling on negative thoughts, he snapped the band to remind himself to change his perspective. Psychologists call this cognitive reframing. Looking for lessons hidden within hardship—or even finding moments of humor—doesn't deny pain. It helps us see beyond it.
Take care of your gut. Scientists continue to discover the remarkable connection between the digestive system and the brain. The bacteria living in our intestines produce chemicals that influence mood, emotional regulation, and even resilience. A healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole foods supports both physical and mental health. Sometimes resilience begins with the simple choices we make every day.
None of these strategies removes adversity from our lives. Loss still hurts. Grief still takes time. Some wounds never disappear completely. Yet countless people have discovered that hardship does not have to define them.
There is an old Japanese art called kintsugi, in which broken pottery is repaired with gold. Rather than hiding the cracks, the artist highlights them, transforming something broken into something even more beautiful than before. Human lives can be much the same. The scars we carry remind us not only of what we've endured, but also of the strength we discovered along the way.
When adversity comes—and sooner or later it comes to all of us—don't lose hope. No disaster or mistake is so great that it erases your worth as a human being. While you cannot change yesterday, you can choose the person you will become tomorrow. Lean on those who care about you. Take one step at a time. Believe that healing is possible. You may never be the person you once were, but with perseverance, compassion, and purpose, you can become someone even stronger.
References:
Marano, E. (2024) 9 Ways to Overcome Adversity. Psychology today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/202411/9-ways-to-overcome-adversity
Davis, P. (2021) How to Stay Mentally Strong When Dealing With An Unexpected Adversity. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauladavis/2021/01/19/how-to-stay-mentally-strong-when-dealing-with-an-unexpected-adversity/
Please share your thoughts on my blog site in the comment section at the end of this article.
Art is always for sale through my website. I Thought I Knew You is a multi-media painting on canvas. For information go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/1353668/i-thought-i-knew-you#/
Questions ? Contact me at [email protected]
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6/18/2026 2:41:45 PM
Filling the Void
The excruciating pain of something bouncing around your brain that you can’t control.
It’s a Pain!
Pain management is a medical specialty devoted to evaluating, diagnosing, and treating acute and chronic pain. It draws on a wide range of approaches, including medications, procedures, physical therapy, and psychological support, all aimed at restoring quality of life. I thought about pain management recently because so many people I know spend their days suffering. As a lay minister at First Unitarian in Portland, I am often overwhelmed by the pains congregants have and how they stoically deal with them
Pain is one of the few experiences shared by every human being. We enter the world crying and dependent on others, and most of us leave it the same way. In between, much of life involves managing one form of pain or another.
As children, we skin our knees, catch fevers, and endure broken bones. As adults, we face illnesses, injuries, and the gradual wear of aging. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in four American adults lives with chronic pain. Many spend years searching for relief through medications, therapies, surgeries, and lifestyle changes. The makers of aspirin and ibuprofen have good reason to stay in business.
Yet pain is not limited to the body. Emotional suffering can be every bit as debilitating. Anxiety, depression, loneliness, grief, and despair affect millions of people. In recent decades, serious mental health challenges have increased, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Around me, I see discouraged people who have lost jobs, struggle to afford housing, or feel overwhelmed by the demands of raising a family. Some retreat into isolation. They spend their evenings scrolling social media, gambling online, or escaping into virtual worlds. Their laughter becomes less frequent. Their world grows smaller.
Pain, whether physical or emotional, has a way of isolating us. Family and friends often try to help, but they quickly discover the limits of their abilities. No matter how much they care, they cannot simply wish another person's suffering away. They can listen, encourage, and offer practical support, but they cannot step inside another person's body or mind and experience what that individual is feeling.
Most people can tolerate minor discomforts without much assistance. The challenge comes when pain exceeds their ability to cope. At that point, they may need to lean on family, friends, counselors, physicians, or other trained professionals. Surprisingly, many find this difficult. They are uncomfortable asking for help. Vulnerability feels like weakness. Pride convinces them that suffering alone is somehow noble.
I have never understood that way of thinking. If support is available, why refuse it? One of my childhood friends experienced a severe psychological collapse in her mid-thirties. She became profoundly depressed, nearly catatonic, and at times could barely communicate. Her pain was so overwhelming that she required years of professional treatment. Throughout that ordeal, her friends never abandoned her. They visited regularly, not because they could fix her, but because their presence reminded her that she remained connected to the world. Their visits were small acts of faith, gentle assurances that better days might eventually return.
Her husband suffered as well. Watching the person he loved descend into a private hell left him feeling helpless. Yet he accepted support from family and friends, allowing them to sustain him while he cared for his wife. For nearly two years, the couple existed in separate emotional worlds, unable to reach one another. Had they faced that struggle alone, their marriage might not have survived. Instead, a wider community carried them through the darkest period of their lives.
With time, skilled doctors, and counseling, my friend's curtain slowly lifted. She regained much of her former self, though she was never quite the vivacious woman she had once been. She and her husband had to rebuild their relationship, rekindling intimacy and redefining expectations. The process was neither quick nor easy, but they remained together for another twenty-five years, until her death from cancer.
Physical pain can be equally devastating. Years ago, I saw a training film about a woman who had lost the lower part of her arm. Despite the amputation, she experienced excruciating pain in the hand that no longer existed. This phenomenon, known as phantom limb pain, affects a majority of amputees at some point after surgery.
The woman described intense muscle contractions in fingers that were gone. During these episodes, she screamed in agony. Her treatment was. Her therapist brought out a box containing a mirror positioned between two openings. She placed her remaining arm on one side and the amputated limb on the other. When she looked down, the reflection created the illusion that both arms were intact.
The therapist asked her to slowly open and close her hand. As she watched the reflection, her brain interpreted the movement as occurring in both hands. Gradually, the sensation of the phantom contraction eased. By tricking the brain into believing the missing hand had relaxed, the therapy relieved her pain. To me, it seemed miraculous.
Experiences like these remind me that pain is far more complicated than we once believed. It is physical, emotional, neurological, and social. Sometimes relief comes through medicine. Sometimes it comes through therapy. Often it comes through the steady presence of people who refuse to abandon us.
No one lives a pain-free life. There are times when we need others, and times when others need us. Managing pain is rarely the work of a single person. More often, it requires family, friends, and professionals working together. While they cannot remove all suffering, they can help make it bearable—and sometimes that is enough to carry someone through.
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Has your pain ever been so bad that it seems overwhelming. Please share your experience in the comment section of this blog.
It is easy to purchase art through my website. Filling the void is a 12” by 12” acrylic on canvas painting. Go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6372442/filling-the-void#/
For questions, contact me at marilynne2eichingerfineart.com
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The pain my friend endured inspired part of Jennifer Russo's journey in Antheia in the Thorns. After the death of her infant daughter, Jennifer retreats from the world, consumed by grief. Only through time, support, and a renewed sense of purpose does she find her way back. Her healing becomes the source of her courage, proving that those who have suffered deeply are sometimes the very people best equipped to stand up for others. For thrillers about social justice and the environment, turn to the Rightfully Mine series.
Eichinger books are available on AMAZON.
6/13/2026 12:19:29 PM
BURSTING SPRING:
A time of hope and renewal—a fresh start.
Helping One Another
“You may not be strong, but that’s okay—we’ll help one another.”The quote comes from British author Charlie Mackesy in The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, a book beloved for its themes of friendship, vulnerability, and kindness. When the Mole says those words to the Boy, he reminds him that no one is meant to carry life's burdens alone. Yet asking for help is often one of the hardest things we do.
You may lose a job, suffer an illness, experience the end of a relationship, or find yourself overwhelmed by depression. You may desperately need someone to drive you to a doctor's appointment, listen to your fears, or bring you a bowl of chicken soup while you recover. Yet pride, embarrassment, or fear can keep you from reaching out.
For people who have always been independent, asking for help can feel like admitting defeat. They see need as weakness rather than a normal part of being human. Instead of accepting support, they retreat behind walls of pride and suffer alone.
Helping others, however, is not always easy either.
Caregiving is often described as stepping into an entirely new reality. It may begin with small tasks—running errands, making phone calls, or driving someone to appointments. Over time, those responsibilities can grow into something much larger. Caregivers often juggle their own jobs, families, and dreams while putting another person's needs first.
In my own life, helping a struggling immigrant family gradually became a commitment I never expected. What started as occasional assistance grew into helping with childcare, transportation, paperwork, fundraising, and countless unexpected challenges.
There have been difficult days. Understanding problems from a different cultural perspective requires patience, compassion, and flexibility. At times, the commitment has felt nearly around the clock. Whenever I look at the children, I am reminded why the effort matters.
Every child deserves stability. Every child deserves the chance to succeed in school, build friendships, and dream about the future without worrying whether the adults around them can keep the family afloat. Children thrive when they are surrounded by consistency, love, and security.
What has amazed me most is the number of people who have stepped forward to help.Friends, neighbors, family members, and even people I barely know have offered encouragement, donations, advice, and practical assistance. Their generosity has restored my faith in the goodness that still exists all around us. This is the side of America that rarely makes the headlines. It is quiet, compassionate, and deeply human.
Like many people, I sometimes watch the news and wonder whether kindness is disappearing from our society. Then I see someone make a donation, offer a ride, send an encouraging message, or ask how the family is doing. Those simple acts remind me that compassion is still alive and well. The truth is that none of us gets through life alone. At different times, each of us will be the person who needs help and the person who gives it. As you grow older you will need the help of family and friends. Unlike most other high-income nations, the United States has a weak social welfare system. We have to depend on each other for support.
If you have already contributed to this family, thank you. Your generosity is making a real difference in their lives. If you still consider helping, I invite you to do so now. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps provide stability and opportunity for a family working hard to build a better future.
As Charlie Mackesy reminds us, we help one another. Sometimes that simple act of kindness can change a life. Over the past two days, $1,200 was contributed through the Go-Fund-Me account, and $ 450 sent to me to distribute on their behalf. We still have a ways to go to insure the family is on solid financial footing after their father set fire to the family car and incurred thousands of dollars in unanticipated expenses, making it difficult to pay for housing, transportation, and food. With your help, they should have their lives under control again by fall. To contribute now, click GOFUNDME.
Have you ever needed a caregiver or had to change your way of life to become one? Do share your experience on my blog site.
Art is always for sale. Bursting spring is available on for purchase on my website at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6493159/bursting-spring#/
Questions? :Direct them to [email protected]
6/5/2026 9:08:32 PM
Elaine; we shared a playpen as toddlers, were best friends throughout our school years, were in each other’s wedding parties, moved away after college, occasionally communicated during our middle years, traveled together when retired, and now as seniors residing on east and west coasts, we meet monthly along with a dear childhood friend, via zoom.
Trusted Friends
One of the hardest lessons I learned came twice. The first time was when I sold my company. For years, I had worked alongside employees I considered friends. We shared victories, frustrations, and countless conversations over coffee. Yet after the sale, the new owner wanted to establish his own leadership style and discouraged staff from maintaining close contact with me. Within months, many of those relationships faded.
The second time came when I stepped down as president of a science museum. Once again, people I saw regularly disappeared from my life. It wasn't because they disliked me. A new leader had arrived, and everyone needed to move forward.
Those experiences taught me something important: many friendships are tied to circumstances, but a few survive change. Those are the friendships worth cherishing.
I have met people from every walk of life—individuals who lost jobs, struggled with addiction, experienced divorce, faced illness, or made serious mistakes. The difference between those who eventually rebuilt their lives and those who remained stuck was often not intelligence, talent, or luck. It was whether they had trustworthy friends standing beside them.
No one travels through life without setbacks. At some point, everyone needs someone to lean on.
Research supports what many of us know from experience. The famous Harvard Study of Adult Development, which followed participants for more than eighty years, found that strong relationships were one of the best predictors of health, happiness, and longevity. More recently, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that chronic loneliness carries health risks comparable to smoking up to fifteen cigarettes a day. Human beings are social creatures. We are wired for connection.
What makes friendship especially important is that it is one of the few major influences in life we can choose. We cannot select our parents, our genetics, or the circumstances into which we are born. We can choose who we spend time with. The challenge is finding people who are trustworthy.
Trustworthy friends keep confidences. They tell us the truth even when it is uncomfortable. They celebrate our successes without jealousy and support us during difficult times. Most importantly, they accept us as imperfect human beings. That doesn't mean they never disappoint us. Every friendship encounters misunderstandings. A trusted friend may say the wrong thing, forget a commitment, or accidentally reveal something private. The question is not whether mistakes will happen. The question is whether the relationship contains enough trust, goodwill, and forgiveness to survive them.
Trust is rarely all or nothing. Instead, it develops gradually. We learn, over time, how much we can depend on each person in our lives. This becomes particularly important as we age. According to research published through the National Institutes of Health, friendships become increasingly important to happiness in later life. Interestingly, the quality of friendships often matters more than the quantity. A handful of trusted friends can contribute more to life satisfaction than a large network of casual acquaintances.
Unfortunately, adulthood often works against friendship. People move away, change careers, retire, marry, divorce, or become consumed by family responsibilities. Relationships that once seemed permanent can quietly disappear. Even clergy are often encouraged not to return to former congregations after retirement so that new leaders can establish their own relationships.
The result is that many older adults find themselves lonely, not because they failed socially, but because life changed around them. The solution is not to retreat. It is to begin again.
In retirement, I discovered that friendships do not simply appear; they must be cultivated. I joined a pottery class and met interesting people, though most of those relationships remained casual. Later, I joined a writers' group. After years of meeting weekly to critique one another's work, we realized we wanted to know one another beyond our manuscripts. We started gathering monthly for happy hour and later for Sunday brunch. Eight years later, we remain friends. We encourage one another, challenge one another, and exchange criticism without fear because we know it comes from caring hearts.
Writing environmental novels also led me to become involved with a local environmental committee. The work introduced me to new people, new ideas, and new friendships. Those connections continue to enrich my life.
Friendship does not happen by accident. It requires time, vulnerability, and effort. Yet the rewards are enormous. The people who stand beside us through life's changes become part of the story of who we are. If you are shy, take a small risk and introduce yourself. If you have become comfortable staying home, accept an invitation. If your social life exists mostly through screens, spend time with people face to face.
The real world is still full of potential friends. Some of them may become the trustworthy companions who help carry you through whatever challenges lie ahead.
REFERENCES:
Puff, R. (2021) The Importance of Friendship. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/meditation-modern-life/202107/the-importance-friendship\
Carlson, R, (2017) If They Should Remain: When Pastors Leave but Stay. The Evangelical Covenant CHurch. Retrieved from https://covchurch.org/2017/10/04/if-they-should-remain-when-pastors-leave-but-stay/
Guma,J (2023) The relative importance of friendship to happiness increases with age. NIH National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10343095/
Kennedy-MOooore, E (2025) How to tell if You Can trust a Friend. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/growing-friendships/202503/how-to-tell-if-you-can-trust-a-friend
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Do you have close friends? Are they recently acquired or lifelong? How have your friendship relationships changed over time? Do share your thoughts in the comment section below.
The painting of Elaine is not for sale, however, more than three hundred paintings are. If something on my website strikes your fancy, it is easy to purchase online.
Questions? contact me at [email protected]
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The most important friendship for most people is the one who becomes your romantic partner. When reading Antheia in the Thorns, you cans see how trusted relationships easily dissolve when partners stop sharing activities and hide the life they are living. Eichinger books are available on AMAZON. For thrillers about social justice and the environment, turn to the Rightfully Mine series.
5/29/2026 6:40:35 PM
Origin of a Thought
Never Stop Asking Why
Why do we live, and what should we live for, are questions we should never stop asking. The fact that humans are but a speck in the vast universe is a profound conundrum. Yet here we are, trying to make the most of our brief time on Earth. Some argue that the search for meaning is nothing more than an exercise in self-deception because the universe shows no evidence of caring about our hopes, dreams, prayers, or continued existence. In that view, the cosmos is indifferent to what we think or do. Artists, writers, philosophers, and scientists frame the question, making us think about it in a multitude of ways.
Yet from the earliest days of human consciousness, people have looked at the night sky and wondered why we are here. Almost everyone grapples with the mystery of existence. Religious traditions offer perhaps the most comforting answer: the belief in a creator and a greater purpose. Scientists say that science can explain how the universe works, but not necessarily why we exist or whether life has ultimate meaning. No matter how deeply people probe, there is still no absolute answer.
Modern science and philosophy gave rise to existential thinkers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, who focused on the lived reality of individuals rather than abstract systems. Existentialism examines the concrete, and often uncomfortable, experience of being alive and free. Sartre famously wrote that “we are condemned to be free.” We have no choice but to choose what we do, and those choices define who we become. Albert Camus concluded that while life itself may be without ultimate meaning, human beings can still find dignity and satisfaction in the struggle to live fully.
However, the very act of asking these questions reveals how deeply aware we are of the miracle of life on a small planet speeding through space. The evolutionary journey from single-celled organisms to human consciousness gave us minds unlike those of any other creature. Humans accumulate knowledge, share ideas through language and writing, and continually ask questions that probe deeper into the significance of our existence.
Perhaps the answer is not found in grand discoveries, but in ordinary moments: comforting a grieving friend, watching a child laugh, standing beneath a sky filled with stars, or creating something that did not exist before. These experiences remind us that meaning may not be something we discover once and for all, but something we continually create.
Asking what we should live for also leads into psychology. A sense of purpose is essential to mental well-being. Numerous studies suggest that people who live with purpose tend to be more resilient, healthier, and happier. Purpose brings people together, fosters cooperation, and builds community. It helps us endure hardship and create goals beyond our immediate circumstances.
Contemporary approaches to meaning-making focus less on cosmic answers and more on human flourishing. Psychologists such as Martin Seligman argue that a meaningful life includes positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. His perspective does not attempt to solve the ultimate mystery of why we exist. Instead, it asks how we can live well while we are here. Increasingly, researchers point to awe, creativity, compassion, and connection to nature as important sources of fulfillment and emotional well-being.
Meaning evolves as we acquire skills, fall in love, raise children, pursue knowledge, perform acts of kindness, and build societies shaped by art and culture. It is through being meaning-making creatures that we continue to evolve, constantly reaffirming both our existence and our place in the cosmos. Yet circumstances change throughout life, which is why we should never stop asking what we ought to live for. Finding new meaning at each stage of life keeps us creative and resilient.
Perhaps humanity’s greatest gift is not that we possess all the answers, but that we continue searching for them while creating meaning through how we live, love, and imagine our place in the universe.
References:
Rodriguez, R. (2026) The one Question That Haunts Every Human: Why do We Even Exist? Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/one-question-haunts-every-human-why-do-we-even-exist-raul-8becc/
Website (2025) The Human Quest for Meaning : Insight from Existential Thought. Philosophy Institute. Retrieved from https://philosophy.institute/philosophy-of-human-person/human-quest-for-meaning-existential-insights/
Editors (2025) Why Are We Here? The Human Quest of Meaning. Science News Today. Retrieved from https://www.sciencenewstoday.org/why-are-we-here-the-human-quest-for-meaning-and-existence
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My own search for meaning finds expression through art and writing. The novels and essays I create are my way of exploring humanity’s emotional and moral struggles—our fears, hopes, failures, and resilience. Whether writing about environmental conflict, social injustice, or personal relationships, I find myself returning to the same central question: how do we live meaningful lives in an uncertain world? Storytelling becomes more than entertainment; it becomes a way of understanding both ourselves and the fragile world we inhabit.
Eichinger books are available in paperback, ebook, and soon to be audio formats on AMAZON. For thrillers about social justice and the environment, turn to the Rightfully Mine Series.
5/23/2026 4:04:24 PM
Replanting The Garden
Planting a garden and watching things grow over the summer is a wonderful way to stay connected to nature.
Summertime: Will the Living Be Easy?
For most children, summer vacation is supposed to be a season of freedom—a time to relax with friends and family and enjoy the long, carefree days away from school. In one of the world’s richest nations, you might expect endless opportunities for young people to thrive during those months. Yet for many families, summer has become a stressful and lonely season, one that can negatively affect children’s emotional well-being and development.
Research consistently shows that children from lower-income families report poorer mental health and lower overall well-being than their wealthier peers. Food insecurity, lack of supervision, social isolation, and limited access to enriching activities all contribute to the problem. According to a report by the National Summer Learning Association, many low-income students also experience “summer learning loss,” falling behind academically during vacation months while wealthier children often move ahead through camps, travel, tutoring, and educational activities.
The statistics are troubling. The Afterschool Alliance reports that more than 24 million children in the United States are unsupervised during parts of the summer because their parents work and cannot afford childcare or structured programs. Meanwhile, the average cost of a summer day camp places it far beyond the reach of struggling families.
When I was a child, my grandparents helped care for me whenever my parents were busy. That kind of family support was a tremendous blessing to working parents. Today, however, families are often scattered across the country. Adult children move away for employment, and grandparents remain behind. Of my five children, only one lives nearby, and he has no children. My grandchildren live far away, beyond daily reach.
Because I missed the companionship and energy of young people, eight years ago I became an informal grandmother to two girls in an immigrant family. I visit them weekly, taking them to cultural events, museums, and nature trails. Over time, I have grown to worry about their futures as deeply as if they were biologically my own.
This summer, both parents will continue working long hours. The younger daughter, now eleven, will spend much of her time at home under the supervision of her fifteen-year-old sister, who naturally would rather be with her friends. Their community offers few free summer programs like the ones I enjoyed growing up. My elementary school once provided half-day programs filled with crafts, games, and sports. Those opportunities seem increasingly rare today.
Childcare has also become extraordinarily expensive. In Portland, Oregon, babysitters commonly charge fifteen dollars an hour or more. Day camps often cost upwards of $350 to $400 a week, while overnight camps can exceed $900 for only five days. For families already struggling with housing and food costs, these programs are simply impossible luxuries.
Out of concern for safety, the girls’ parents do not like them playing outdoors unsupervised. With few toys or organized activities available, screens become the default entertainment. Like millions of children, they spend hours online playing games, scrolling social media, and chatting with strangers. Excessive screen time among adolescents has been linked in multiple studies to increased anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and loneliness. As I discovered when the older girl became emotionally involved with an unsuitable man living in Los Angeles, the internet can expose vulnerable children to relationships and influences they are not mature enough to navigate.
Before the internet transformed childhood, I once read a study examining women who rose to the top of their professions. Surprisingly, many shared one common experience: during childhood they had spent long stretches of time away from traditional schooling. Some suffered serious illnesses. Others lived abroad because of their parents’ work. A few stayed home to care for siblings or ill family members. What mattered most was how they used that time.
High achievers read books, solved puzzles, learned to cook, built things, experimented with crafts, and explored hobbies independently. Their parents supplied them with educational toys, books, and encouragement. Though they talked with friends on the telephone, conversations did not consume entire days. They had time to think, reflect, and discover who they were. Solitude became a source of creativity rather than boredom. In learning how to occupy themselves meaningfully, they developed self-discipline and self-motivation—qualities that later helped them achieve extraordinary success. Perhaps there is still a lesson in that for parents today.
Summer can become a gift if approached thoughtfully. Children do not need expensive vacations or elite camps to grow intellectually and emotionally. What they need most is structure, encouragement, curiosity, and human connection.
Set schedules that include reading, exercise, household responsibilities, and creative projects. Visit libraries. Explore nature trails. Share childcare with trusted neighbors or friends. Keep puzzles, games, art supplies, and books within easy reach. When possible, spend time together riding bicycles, cooking meals, gardening, or simply talking.
The goal is not merely to keep children occupied. The goal is to raise curious, capable young people filled with wonder about the world around them. Summer should teach children not how to avoid boredom, but how to transform free time into imagination, self-sufficiency, and growth.
And yes, there is one additional blessing every parent can appreciate: no early-morning rush to catch the school bus—and no lunches to pack before sunrise.
References:
Website (2026) Gallup Summer Data National Summer Learning Alliance. Retrieved from https://www.summerlearning.org/gallup-summer-data/
Hones, S. (2018) How Children’s Socioeconomic Differences Play Out Over Summer Break Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/how-childrens-socioeconomic-differences-play-out-over-summer-break/2018/05
Morgan, K. (2019) Poorer children’s summer holiday linked with worse mental wellbeing. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/poorer-childrens-summer-holiday-experiences-linked-with-worse-mental-well-being-114533
Lenhart,A. (2018) The Summer Care Gap. New America. Retrieved from https://www.newamerica.org/insights/summer-care-gap/
Website ( 2026) The Summer Struggle for Everyday Families. Summer Afterschool Alliance. Retrieved from https://afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM/landing/
Please share your thoughts on how to blend work with childcare during the summer. . You can comment on my blog site at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/blog.
Art is always for sale, The garden is a 20” x 16” framed acrylic painting. To purchase go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/3536926/replanting-the-garden#/ Shipping free in continental U. S.
Need to know more contact me at [email protected].
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Eichinger books make good summer reading. Give yourself a gift. Available on AMAZON.
5/17/2026 11:49:10 AM
A MASKED VIEW
The picture above, is a painting of two African American girls wearing masks. Eight years ago, I became the American grandma to two wonderful children, shown in the picture above. It was painted after a mask-making craft session. Their parents came to the United States as African refugees seeking a life away from gunfire and poverty. I’m pleased to say the children are thriving—excelling in their studies and making many good friends. Though the parents’ education did not go beyond middle school, they are warm and loving people. I have enriched their lives by introducing them to cultural and athletic events. It is a privilege to have them as part of my life’s journey, and I encourage other empty-nesters to do the same.
A Memoir: My Two-Sided Brain
I try to live as though I’m on a journey, taking in each moment as a special gift. The ups and downs, even when difficult to embrace, have helped me grow. To me, this means living fully in the present while accepting the emotional seesaw that comes with exploring new frontiers.
What helps me overcome hesitation and heartache is allowing part of my brain to step outside myself and observe situations from a distance. Much like a reporter, this detached perspective keeps me curious and helps me maintain a sense of objectivity.
It is this reflective part of my mind that puts words on paper and paint on canvas, capturing moments from my journey. My books are filled with experiences drawn from my life, as are my paintings.
For my sixth-grade birthday party, all the girls in my class were invited except one—the only Black girl in the class. Her birthday happened to fall on the same day as mine, and I thought it would be fun to celebrate together. My mother didn’t want to invite her, saying she would probably have her own party. Although I didn’t protest, the reflective part of my mind knew something was wrong. It was the first time I realized my mother was prejudiced. I have carried the guilt of not inviting my friend to this day. My first encounter with injustice hurt deeply because she mattered to me.
That interaction with my mother became an important part of my journey. From that moment on, I became more sensitive to the prejudices and assumptions of the adults around me. I also grew more curious about how race, religion, intellect, and culture shape the way people respond to one another. The more diverse communities I encountered in my travels, both at home and abroad, the more I understood where people were coming from—and the more meaningful life became.
This is why the plots in my books often involve third-world and indigenous nations. It is a way to introduce readers to the struggles faced by people around the world. The Water Factor takes readers to Ethiopia. Antheia in the Thorns introduces them to Manila and a small Oregon town. My next book, Kingdom of Greed, journeys to a South Sea island.
I hope you will share a childhood event that influenced your life’s journey. Share it on this blog site so others can enjoy your insights.
Art is always available through my website and through https://www.Eichingerfineart.com
Eichinger books are available on AMAZON.
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5/10/2026 11:12:36 AM
THE SANTIAM BURN
THE DEVISTATION LEFT BY A VAST FIRE IN OREGON INSPIRED THIS PAINTING AND THE BOOK I'M PRESENTLY WRITING ABOUT OUR NATIONAL PARKS AND FORESTS
While giving book talks or attending art show openings of my paintings, I am often asked what inspired me. The only honest answer to that question is life itself—both living it and observing it. There are times, whether in moments of crisis or joy, when I mentally step outside the experience and watch it as though I were a stranger witnessing the situation unfold. At other times, when frustration or sorrow weighs heavily on me, a blank sheet of paper or an empty canvas calls out as a place to pour out the soul’s unrest.
The day my son was diagnosed with cancer, I went to my studio and splashed my grief across a canvas, yet somehow created a painting filled with hope, healing, and resilience. When the temperature climbed to 117 degrees and wildfires blackened the landscape, I did the same, finding solace while painting the scorched trees and smoke-filled skies that occupied my thoughts.
During the long walks I took throughout COVID-19, I became fascinated by the front doors of the houses I passed. I found myself imagining the people who lived behind them and the lives they carried within those walls. Those observations stirred my imagination and eventually became the inspiration for a blog in 2021. The walks kept my mind percolating until my fingers later moved rapidly across the keyboard. Immersed in writing, I enjoyed every moment of free time the lockdown gave me.
I was fortunate to travel extensively in my younger years, and the journeys that affected me most were those with a purpose beyond sightseeing. In Poland, I participated in an archaeological dig. In Kenya, I joined a research project studying elephant behavior in the wild. I experienced homestays in the Andes Mountains, in a Cuban plantation town, and in a village deep within the Amazon rainforest. I traveled extensively in China when towns were being demolished and million person cities were established almost overnight. Experiences like these deepened my curiosity about the customs people practice, the values they cherish, and the ways culture shapes identity.
As a mental health professional, and later while managing museums and businesses, I learned to look beyond the surface of the people I encountered. Their motives, backgrounds, fears, and dreams were endlessly varied and deeply compelling. If I were given another fifty years to live, it still would not be enough time to share all I have learned about the human struggle to find meaning in life.
The Water Factor is infused with experiences drawn from Africa and from the African families I have met in the United States. Cave explorations in Costa Rico, archaeological digs in the Southwest, and rock-climbing adventures near home all found their way into Antheia in the Thorns.
So, it is life that inspires and enriches the Rightfully Mine Series and the paintings I share in each blog. It is the practice of remaining aware of one’s surroundings and attentive to others while moving through the world. And finally, it is the willingness to look inward—to examine my own soul and understand how I respond to the situations life places before me.
Other Inspirations:
The dark days and riots following George Floyd's death inspired this painting of hope.
. 
Helping a homeless boy climb a fence that took him from poverty to a living wage
inspired the painting (OVER THE FENCE) and teh book (OVER THE PEANUT FENCE)
Paying attention to the environment, learning about global warming, and watching the quality of ouor ocians and air degrade inspired the painting (One Seed at A Time) and the The Rightfully Mine Series of Books.
What inspired you to create something you value. Please share in the comment secdtion below.
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Recently published, Antheia in the Thorns is an environmental thriller about power, corruption, loss, and regaining purpose. Marilynne Eichinger follows Jennifer Russo, a grieving mother who lost a child, and Abdul Hammed Dillinger, who escaped his father's cruelty. Together their stories illuminate the effect trauma has on behavior and how individuals evolve over time. Human lives are complex, influenced by environment and happenstance. The second thriller in the Rightfully Mine series remains at a reduced price while we get the word out. Your early reviews are greatly appreciated. Purchase at AMAZON SERIES.
5/1/2026 7:11:26 PM
OPUS 4
Are We Wiser Today Than Our Ancestors?
Given all that humanity has learned and discovered, one might expect the world to be in a better place. We have unprecedented access to knowledge, technological advancements capable of transforming entire societies, and a global awareness of crises like climate change, economic inequality, and political instability. Yet progress in information has not consistently led to progress in wisdom.
Perhaps the question is not whether we are smarter than our ancestors, but whether we are better at applying what we know. Sophocles, who wrote in the 5th century BCE, endures not because he offered solutions, but because he revealed patterns of human behavior that repeat across time.
We still see Antigone’s dilemma play out when individuals challenge unjust laws or systems—whistleblowers exposing corporate misconduct, journalists risking their careers to bring truth to light, and environmental activists placing themselves in harm’s way to protect forests, water, and communities. Protests over pipelines, old-growth logging, and land use continue across North America, as communities push back against decisions they believe prioritize short-term profit over long-term stewardship. The question remains the same: when authority demands silence, what does conscience require?
We see Oedipus in our relentless pursuit of knowledge without always considering its consequences. Artificial intelligence advances faster than the ethical frameworks needed to guide it. Social media platforms, designed to connect us, are also used to spread misinformation, deepen division, and influence elections. We gather vast amounts of data about human behavior, yet often use it to manipulate attention rather than promote understanding. Like Oedipus, we seek answers—sometimes only to discover that knowledge alone does not protect us from harm.
Philoctetes lives on in those society casts aside—the unhoused in our cities, the workers displaced by automation or global supply chains, and the communities left to deal with polluted land and water long after industries have moved on. In places affected by industrial runoff or abandoned extraction sites, residents often carry the burden of contamination for generations. His story asks whether we are capable not just of recognizing suffering, but of responding to it with empathy and responsibility.
And Ajax is present wherever pride overrides judgment. We see it in political leaders who refuse to concede mistakes, in corporations that deny environmental damage despite mounting evidence, and in public discourse that rewards certainty over reflection. Pride fuels polarization, making compromise feel like defeat and dialogue feel impossible.
These patterns are not distant or theoretical. They appear in legislative gridlock where urgent issues, like climate policy, infrastructure resilience, or wildfire management, stall amid partisan conflict. They are visible in the widening gap between scientific consensus on climate change and the pace of meaningful action, even as wildfires intensify across the American West, drought reshapes agricultural regions, and coastal communities face rising seas. They show up in continued debates over fossil fuel expansion even as renewable alternatives become more viable.
We are not lacking in knowledge. We are struggling with judgment, with humility, and with the will to act on what we already understand.
This tension—between knowledge and action, between power and responsibility—sits at the heart of my Rightfully Mine series. Through these stories, I explore the same enduring questions Sophocles raised centuries ago: What do we owe the earth that sustains us? When does obedience become complicity? How do we confront injustice when it is embedded within powerful systems?
The characters in these novels navigate environmental degradation, corporate overreach, and the quiet moral compromises that allow both to continue. Like Antigone, they must decide when to stand against authority. Like Oedipus, they confront truths that are unsettling and transformative. Like Philoctetes, they wrestle with abandonment and the possibility of healing. And like Ajax, they face the consequences of pride—both their own and that of the world around them.
If Sophocles teaches us anything, it is that wisdom is not a natural byproduct of time or progress. It must be chosen—through justice, through humility, and through compassion. It requires us not only to ask difficult questions, but to live with the answers.
That was true in ancient Greece. It is true now. And it may be the most important challenge we face: not how much we know, but what we are willing to do with it.
References:
Website (2023). Sophocles. Philo-Notes. Retrieved from https://philonotes.com/2023/04/sophocles
Konstand, D (2021) Sophocles’ Antigone and the Sources of Human Ethics, Open Forum for Classics. Retrieved from https://antigonejournal.com/2021/07/antigone-and-human-ethics/
Website (2011) Closing the Gap: The complete Plays of Sophocles: A New Translation for a New Audience. The Common.Retrieved from https://www.thecommononline.org/closing-the-gap-the-complete-plays-of-sophocles-a-new-translation-for-a-new-audience/
For those of you who like the classics, the following is a reminder of a few of Sophocles’ plots.
Antigone: After a civil war, King Creon declares that one of Antigone’s brothers, labeled a traitor, must remain unburied as punishment. Antigone defies the order, believing divine law and moral duty outweigh human authority. She buries her brother and accepts the consequences, even death. The play explores the conflict between individual conscience and state power, asking when it is right to resist unjust laws.
Like Antigone, who chose conscience over compliance, we are still confronted with moments when doing what is right means standing against authority.Antigone’s defiance reminds us that justice is not always defined by law—and that moral courage often comes at a cost.
Oedipus at Colonus: An older, blind Oedipus, once king of Thebes, wanders in exile after discovering he unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. In this final stage of his life, he reflects on suffering, fate, and responsibility. Rather than a story of downfall, this play is about transformation: Oedipus gains wisdom through hardship and ultimately finds a kind of peace and redemption. It emphasizes that true understanding often comes late and at great cost.
Oedipus’s journey suggests that knowledge alone is not wisdom; it is what we do with hard truths that defines us.In Oedipus, we see the danger of pursuing answers without reflection—and the possibility of growth when we finally confront them.
Philoctetes: Philoctetes, a skilled archer, is abandoned by his fellow Greeks on a remote island because of a foul-smelling, unhealed wound. Years later, the Greeks realize they cannot win the Trojan War without him and return to retrieve him, initially through deception. The play centers on pain, betrayal, and moral choice, ultimately arguing that honesty and compassion are more powerful than manipulation or expedience.
Philoctetes reminds us how easily society abandons those who suffer—, nd how essential compassion is to restoring what has been broken. His story asks whether we will choose expedience or empathy when faced with another person’s pain.
Ajax: Ajax, a great warrior of the Trojan War, feels dishonored when another soldier is awarded Achilles’ armor. Consumed by rage and wounded pride, he plans revenge but is driven into madness by the gods. When he regains his senses and realizes what he has done, he is overwhelmed by shame and takes his own life. The tragedy examines the destructive power of pride and the danger of tying identity too tightly to status and recognition.
Ajax stands as a warning that pride, when left unchecked, can undo even the strongest among us. In Ajax, we see how the refusal to admit failure can lead not to strength, but to collapse.
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I look forward to your comments below.
Art is always for sale. OPUS 4 is part of a series that goes easy on your pocketbook. To purchase and have it delivered without cost i the continental U.S. go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6505490/opus-4#/
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The Rightfully Mine Series will help you better understand this world and how to care for it. They are thrillers based on facts that will keep you page turning. The Water Factor follows the plight of a Native American Reservation who contracted with a corporation that steals their water, and the young man who takes it upon himself to do something about it. Antheia in the Thorns follows a woman who emerges from depression after the loss of her child, fighting for the right to clean air and an unpolluted ocean.
Eichinger books are available on AMAZON.
4/24/2026 4:51:51 PM
WELCOMING SPRING
Spring has sprung
Out come garden tools
Butterflies fly free
Love creates new fools
Why Love Feels Like Madness
In Antheia in the Thorns, after the loss of her baby, Jennifer Russo falls into a deep depression that leads to the destruction of her marriage. Grief leaves her emotionally numb, isolated, and unable to imagine a future worth wanting. Over time, however, she finds reasons to live again—a social justice cause, meaningful work, and eventually, someone new to love.
As I wrote her journey, I became curious about what might actually be happening inside her body. Why does love feel so powerful? Why does heartbreak feel physically painful? I.wondered why the loss of love can leave someone feeling as if they are unraveling?
Social, economic, biological, and psychological forces all shape human relationships. Romantic love is deeply studied, yet it remains one of the least understood human behaviors. Researchers Richard Schwartz and Jacqueline Olds spent years examining how love begins, how it changes, and why it sometimes collapses.
One of the best-known brain imaging studies of romantic love, led by biological anthropologist Helen Fisher and her colleagues, used MRI scans to study people who described themselves as intensely in love. The scans showed increased activity in dopamine-rich regions of the brain associated with reward, motivation, and focused attention—particularly the same neural systems involved in pursuing food, pleasure, and survival.
Dopamine is often called the brain’s “reward chemical,” but it is really more about motivation than happiness. It pushes us to pursue what we desire. In early romantic love, that desire becomes intensely focused on another person. This reward circuit is ancient. It has always linked humans with pleasure and survival behaviors such as eating, bonding, and reproduction. Just as now, when they fell in love, the brain flooded with chemicals that triggered emotional and physical responses: racing hearts, sweaty palms, flushed cheeks, excitement, anxiety, and obsessive thoughts.
During the early stage of romantic love, the body also behaves a little like it is under stress. Cortisol, the stress hormone, often rises, while serotonin levels may lower, shifting in ways that bring on the obsessive thinking seen in infatuation. This helps explain the intrusive thoughts taking over during early love, the constant replaying of conversations, wild hopes, and the fear of rejection that can make it feel both exhilarating and exhausting.
This may be why people say love is blind: in deep attachment, we often soften our critical judgment and feel emotionally safer with the person we love. Yet, as relationships deepen, chemicals such as oxytocin help strengthen feelings of trust, calm, and attachment. The intense panic experienced at first usually settles into something quieter but stronger.
If all goes well, a lasting pair bond forms. Passion does not necessarily disappear, but the emotional chaos of early romance usually calms. Cortisol returns to normal. The brain no longer treats love like a crisis. Instead, the relationship itself becomes a buffer against stress.
Long-term love is different from infatuation once the fireworks quiet. Couples may become distracted by work, children, aging parents, and ordinary life, yet affection and desire can still be reawakened. A weekend away together, uninterrupted conversation, or renewed intimacy can reactivate the same reward pathways that first drew them together.
Pair bonding is not limited to one cultural model. Some bonds begin with sudden romantic attraction, while others grow slowly through compatibility, trust, and shared life. Even arranged marriages, without an initial romantic spark, can develop into strong emotional partnerships if affection, respect, and intimacy grow over time.
But when love breaks, the pain is real. Though some say they have a broken heart, their heartbreak is a neurological not a heart event. Brain imaging shows that rejection activates some of the same regions involved in physical pain, craving, and addiction. The attachment system does not simply switch off. The part of the brain that still longs for connection remains active, even when the relationship is over.
That is why breakups can feel unbearable. People replay memories, crave contact, and struggle with withdrawal much like addiction. The emotional pain can feel physical because, in many ways, the brain processes it that way.
With the honeymoon phase fading and the pressures of real life returning, bonding hormones such as oxytocin may lessen, and the brain becomes less idealizing. The small quirks once seen as charming can begin to feel irritating. People stop focusing only on their partner and begin thinking more about their own unmet needs, frustrations, and goals.
Some relationships survive that shift. Others do not. The hopeful part is that the brain can heal. Neural pathways change. Grief softens. New joy becomes possible. Therapy, friendship, purpose, and time all help rebuild the nervous system’s sense of safety and connection. Most people do not recover by waiting passively. Healing usually begins with small acts—getting out of bed, answering the phone, taking a walk, saying yes to help.
Jennifer Russo moves through all of these stages: grief, emotional collapse, a dissolving marriage, and eventually the renewal of life through love and action. She does not recover by staying home in a catatonic state. She heals because she pushes herself forward, even in tiny steps, and because someone cares enough to walk beside her.
Love may begin as chemistry, but recovery is often a choice.
I look forward to hearing your stories of love in the comment section below.
Art is always for sale through my website. Welcoming spring is 20” by 16” acrylic painting on canvas. To purchase go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6493159/welcoming-spring#/
Resources:
Scott Edwards. (2015) Love and the Brain. Harvard Medical School. Retrieved from https://hms.harvard.edu/news-events/publications-archive/brain/love-brain
Martin,R. Ph.d. (2020) Romantic Lovew’s biological Foundations. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-we-do-it/202002/romantic-loves-biological-foundations
Lopez,T. (2023) Brain changes after the end of a relationship. CBS Health News. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/brain-changes-after-end-relationship/
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The Rightfully Mine Series will help you better understand this world and how to care for it. They are thrillers based on facts that will keep you page turning. The Water Factor follows the plight of a Native American Reservation who contracted with a corporation that steals their water, and the young man who takes it upon himself to do something about it. Antheia in the Thorns follows a woman who emerges from depression after the loss of her child, fighting for the right to clean air and an unpolluted ocean.
Eichinger books are available on AMAZON.
4/10/2026 8:46:59 PM
Amidst the chaos of life, the wise owl pays attention, seeing all.
Truth or Consequences
Several days ago, I received a text meant for someone named Sophie. The sender asked to meet for dinner after work. I replied that she had the wrong number. She apologized—and then, unexpectedly, invited me to coffee.
That wasn’t possible, of course. She lived in New York; I live in Oregon. Still, something about the exchange felt harmless, even charming. A small mistake, a moment of connection. We began to text. I told myself I had stumbled into a modern version of a pen pal—someone to perhaps meet if I ever found myself in Manhattan.
Then I mentioned it to a friend. Her response was immediate: This is a scam. She sent me an article describing a growing scheme—one that begins exactly this way. A wrong number. A polite apology. A slow, friendly conversation. Trust is built over days or weeks. And then, eventually, comes the pivot: an investment opportunity, often involving cryptocurrency or insider access.
I went back to my messages with a different eye. The woman had told me she was a financial advisor at Citibank, working with wealthy clients. Yet when I asked for her last name or a professional email, she deflected. She preferred to keep our conversation on WhatsApp. She was friendly, attentive—and just evasive enough. The relationship suddenly felt less like chance and more like design.
I realized I was standing at a quiet threshold: on one side, curiosity and connection; on the other, the possibility of manipulation. If she was genuine, I risked losing a budding friendship. If she wasn’t, the consequences could be far worse. It wasn’t a difficult decision, but it was a disappointing one. I ended the exchange. What lingered was not fear, but sadness—that something as simple as a mistaken text can no longer be taken at face value.
Scams like this are not confined to the United States; they are a global phenomenon, increasingly sophisticated and disturbingly effective. While the details vary from country to country, the underlying strategy is strikingly consistent: establish trust, then exploit it.
Older adults are particularly targeted, for reasons that cross cultures:
- The likelihood of savings or home equity
- A tendency to trust authority or extend politeness
- Less familiarity with rapidly evolving technology
- Social isolation, which makes genuine-seeming connection more powerful
The forms these scams take are familiar: impersonations of government officials or banks, frantic calls from a “grandchild in trouble,” romance scams, tech support fraud—and, increasingly, investment schemes like the one I may have narrowly avoided.
In countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, the problem is widely reported, with significant financial losses tied to phone, email, and online fraud. Public awareness campaigns have grown, and banks are becoming more proactive in flagging suspicious transactions. Still, scammers evolve just as quickly, refining their methods to match our habits.
What has changed most is not just the technology, but the emotional terrain. Scams no longer rely solely on urgency or fear—they often begin with something far more disarming: friendliness. A simple text. A small mistake. An opening.
And that may be the hardest consequence of all—not the money lost, but the uneasy realization that trust, once given freely, now comes with hesitation. It is this tension that lies at the heart of my Rightfully Mine novels. These stories explore corporate scams, hidden agendas, and the quiet deceptions carried out in the name of profit. What at first feels like a nice connection becomes “Ican’t trust this anymore.” The damage is not always visible, but it is deeply felt by those caught in the fallout, people whose lives are altered not by violence, but by betrayal.
In both life and fiction, the cost of deception is the same: the erosion of trust. And trust, once lost, is not easily restored. I believe individuals, businesses, and nations are strongest when trust is honored—when leadership is grounded in integrity rather than exploitation. It is what allows people to sleep at night and wake with the clarity to face the day ahead. Without it, we are left second-guessing even the simplest human connection.
Have you ever been victim of a scam? Share your experience on my blog site to make other readers aware.
Art is always for sale. See All is an acrylic painting on 24” by 48” deep canvas. For information and to purchase go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/5558644/see-all#/ Contact me with your questions at [email protected]
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In a world where water is quietly being bought and sold, one question rises to the surface: what happens when profit controls survival?
Available on AMAZON.
New release: When corporate power silences the truth, those who dare to resist must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice to be heard.
Available on AMAZON
4/3/2026 3:43:29 PM
Sapsucker on Paw Paw Tree
Pecking Away : Life’s Challenges
Woodpeckers are among the most remarkable birds in the natural world — instantly recognizable by their rhythmic tapping as they hunt for insects beneath the bark. Built for impact, they can strike a tree up to twenty times per second without injury, their anatomy absorbing shocks that would leave other animals stunned.
There are more than 230 species worldwide, with about 22 found in the United States. They thrive in forests, woodlands, and even scrub environments, quietly performing essential work. By feeding on insects, they help control pest populations. By carving cavities, they create homes not only for themselves but for other birds and small animals. In this way, woodpeckers don’t just live in ecosystems — they help build them.
Saddly, even these resilient birds are under threat. Several species are now critically endangered due to habitat loss, collisions, pollution, and the accelerating effects of climate change. Birds, more broadly, are among the clearest indicators of environmental health. They pollinate plants, disperse seeds, and regulate pests. When bird populations decline, it signals deeper imbalances in the systems that sustain life.
Across the globe, those declines are accelerating. Forests are cleared for agriculture. Wetlands are drained for development. Grasslands give way to expanding cities. With each change, birds lose breeding grounds, feeding areas, and the migratory stopovers they depend on to survive.
Pollution compounds the damage. Pesticides and heavy metals weaken birds directly and reduce their food supply. Oil spills contaminate habitats. Plastic debris leads to starvation and internal injury. Lead from ammunition and fishing gear poisons countless birds each year. Even the unintended consequences of pest control ripple upward, as birds ingest poisoned prey.
Climate change intensifies every one of these pressures. Migration patterns shift out of sync with food availability. Extreme weather events — storms, droughts, heat waves — become more frequent and more deadly. On top of this come familiar but still devastating forces: hunting, disease, invasive species, and domestic predators.
For generations, birds were carried into coal mines as an early warning system. When the air turned toxic, they died first. Today, they are still warning us, only now the danger is everywhere. The numbers surrounding our future are unsettling. The global population is projected to reach 8.6 billion by 2030. At the same time, experts warn that current efforts to slow climate change fall far short. U.N. risk assessments, even if speculative, suggest nontrivial chances of catastrophic outcomes within this century. More immediate, and more certain, are the stresses already unfolding: strained supply chains, political instability, and environmental systems pushed toward tipping points. Climate change and pollution are not distant threats; they are active pressures reshaping daily life.
Other risks loom alongside them. Advances in biotechnology and artificial intelligence are powerful, but not without danger. The number of laboratories handling high-risk pathogens is increasing. New AI tools make biological and chemical manipulation more accessible. Nuclear conflict, too, remains a persistent and sobering possibility producing a nuclear winter., a catastrophe that would wipe out agriculture.
Meanwhile, six of the nine planetary boundaries the U.N. recognizes have already been crossed, including those related to climate, land use, and nutrient cycles. The Greenland ice sheet, Atlantic circulation, and the Amazon rainforest are key systems sthat show early signs of destabilization. The world’s leading climate scientists warn that with every fraction of a degree of warming, the risks to food, water, and human stability increase. Without immediate action, we are heading toward a far more dangerous and unstable future.
The trajectory is clear: a world that becomes harder to live in. Food more expensive. Weather more volatile. Displacement more common. Conflict more likely. The difference between acting now and delaying action is not abstract. It is the difference between a difficult future and a far harsher one.
In Antheia in the Thorns, I explore these themes through fiction. Abdul Dillinger, a climate denier, profits from petroleum coke, an industrial byproduct that looks like coal, burns hotter, and pollutes more heavily. The United States produces more of it than any other country, exporting the vast majority abroad. If we know it harms health and climate, why do we continue to send it elsewhere?
In the novel, Jennifer Russo and Brian Adakai confront that question head-on. Like woodpeckers, they persist, striking again and again against something dense, resistant, and deeply embedded. Change rarely comes all at once. It comes from steady pressure. From people willing to keep pecking away.
The birds are still doing their part. The question is whether we will do ours.
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I look forward to your comments below.
16" by 20" canvas copis of the Sapsucker on Paw Paw for sale on my website for $99, including shipping in continental U.S. Contact me with questions at [email protected]
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References:
Website (2026). Encyclopedial Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/animal/woodpecker
Website( 2005) Science Insights, Retrieved from https://scienceinsights.org/will-humans-go-extinct-in-2030-the-real-odds/#google_vignette
Website. (2006)U.S. Energy information Administration. (2026) Most U.S.petroleum coke is exported. Retrieved from https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=63705
Website (2026) IPCC Synthesis Report, Retrieved from the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
Website (2024) Emissions Gap Report 2024, United Nations. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/?utm_source=chatgpt.com. ( the trajectory warning if 1.5°C goals is not met by 2030
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Antheia in the Thorns is an environmental thriller about power, corruption, loss, and regaining purpose. Marilynne Eichinger follows Jennifer Russo, a grieving mother who lost a child, and Abdul Hammed Dillinger, who escaped his father's cruelty. Together their stories illuminate the effect trauma has on behavior and how individuals evolve over time. Human lives are complex, influenced by environment and happenstance. The second thriller in the Rightfully Mine series remains at a reduced price while we get the word out. Your early reviews are greatly appreciated. Purchase at AMAZON SERIES.
3/27/2026 5:39:31 PM
What would you do if you found someone dumping toxins in a pond by an Alder grove?
I invited Alena Wren to share her thoughts since I was out of town this week, visiting family. She is an insightful young woman with a compassionate heart.
Who Gets to Decide What Is Sacrifice? On acceptable loss, invisible harm, and the people who never get asked.
There is a phrase that appears in policy discussions, corporate reports, and courtrooms so often that it has almost stopped meaning anything: acceptable risk. It sounds reasonable. Measured. Scientific, even. But the more I sit with it after reading the book, the more I find myself asking a different question: acceptable to whom? When a refinery decides where to store its waste, when a corporation calculates the cost of pollution against the cost of prevention, when regulators weigh economic growth against environmental damage — someone, somewhere, is deciding what counts as an acceptable loss. And almost never are those decisions made by the people who will live with the consequences.
I have been thinking about this since finishing Rachel Carson's Silent Spring for the third time. Carson published her landmark book in 1962, and the resistance she faced was fierce. The chemical industry called her hysterical. Scientists paid by corporations disputed her data. A spokesperson for one pesticide manufacturer reportedly asked why a spinster with no children should be concerned about future generations at all. What Carson had done was simple and devastating: she had named the harm. She had made visible what the industry preferred to keep invisible. And once something is seen clearly, it is very hard to unsee.
That act of naming is at the center of Antheia in the Thorns. The title itself carries meaning worth pausing on. Antheia is the Greek goddess of gardens, flowers, and love — a figure associated with growth, beauty, and the natural world. To find her in the thorns is to find something gentle and life-giving caught in a place of pain and struggle, fighting to get free. That image is Jennifer Russo's story before a single word of plot is spoken.
When Jennifer walks into Oregon's protected wilderness and finds men dumping black industrial waste into a pristine pond, she is not yet an activist. She is a grieving woman, barely functioning, looking for a few hours of quiet. But she sees what she sees. And seeing it — really seeing it — changes everything. The substance being dumped is petroleum coke, petcoke for short. It is a heavy byproduct of oil refining, cheaper to produce than coal, and far more polluting. The United States is its largest producer, yet most Americans have never heard of it. It is shipped overseas, stored in dusty open piles near ports and rivers and communities that had no say in the matter. The people living closest to those piles breathe the particles. Their children develop asthma. Their crops fail. Their complaints are filed away.
That is acceptable risk, as defined by people who do not live there.
The oil tycoon at the center of my story, Abdul Hammed Dillinger, is not a cartoon villain. He is, in his own mind, a builder. A provider. A man who keeps the lights on and the economy moving. He has surrounded himself with lawyers, calculations, and rationalizations that allow him to look at the damage his operations cause and see an unfortunate externality rather than a crime.
The booked helped me see that gap — between how harm looks from the boardroom and how it looks from the ground — as where her real story lives.
Carson wrote that the question was not whether humans had the right to use science and industry to improve their lives, but whether they had the right to impose those choices on others without their knowledge or consent. Sixty years later, the question has not gone away. It has only grown more complicated.
What strikes me most about ordinary people who become activists — the Jennifer Russos of the world, and the real people she is drawn from — is not their anger. It is their clarity. At some point, they stop asking for permission to care. They stop waiting for someone in authority to validate what they can see with their own eyes. They decide that what is happening is wrong, and they act on that conviction even when it costs them everything. That is not naivety. That is courage.
Carson faced ridicule, illness, and a coordinated campaign to discredit her. She finished Silent Spring while dying of cancer, and she published it anyway. Two years later, she was gone. But the book outlasted every company that tried to silence her. Some stories are worth telling because silence costs too much.
―――――――――――――――――――― Antheia Antheia in the Thorns is an environmental thriller about power, corruption, loss, and the kind of courage that does not announce itself. Marilynne Eichinger follows Jennifer Russo, a grieving mother searching for peace in the Oregon wilderness, and Abdul Hammed Dillinger, an oil tycoon whose empire depends on things staying buried. Their collision is the second thriller in the Rightfully Mine series.
The ebook is available now at an introductory price. If you decide to read it, an honest review on Amazon helps more than most people realize — it is the most powerful way to help this story reach new readers.
Purchase on Amazon
Warmly, Aleyna Wren, Guest Writer
Aleyna grasps the urgency of my writing. I am sure she will be interested in your comments. Please share your thoughts on my blog post.
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3/21/2026 11:49:22 AM
SEARCHING FOR THRUTH : Is it real or wishful thinking?
INVENTING VALIDITY, PROVING CONVICTION
While reading Bewilderment by Richard Powers, I came across a phrase that puzzled me: “The world is an experiment in inventing validity and conviction is its only proof.” The sentence was intriguing, both literary and philosophical, but I had no idea what Powers meant. Still, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. At first glance it sounds cryptic, but it raises an enduring question: Do we discover truth, or do we create it? That question lies at the heart of the novels in my Rightfully Mine Series.
A scientist might read the sentence skeptically. Science is indeed an experiment, but conviction alone is never proof. Evidence, replication, and measurement determine validity. From this perspective, conviction can be dangerous. A philosopher might see it differently. Meaning, they might argue that conviction does not exist independently in the world, it emerges through human interpretation. Truth is often shaped by perspective and usefulness. Conviction matters because belief motivates action, and when enough people believe something strongly enough, those beliefs begin to shape reality.
To me, Powers’ sentence explains the conflict at the heart of Antheia in the Thorns. In the novel, a grieving woman named Jennifer Russo is walking alone in the wilderness, trying to make sense of a life that no longer resembles the one she had planned. What she finds there, men dumping black industrial waste into a place that should have been untouched, becomes the moment when looking away is no longer possible. What Jennifer discovers is tied to petroleum coke, a heavy carbon byproduct of oil refining. For the company responsible, the material is simply part of the industrial process, waste that must be stored, shipped, or disposed of somewhere.
The refinery owner, Abdul Hammed Dillinger, represents a conviction that has shaped much of the modern world: that energy production, industrial growth, and profit justify the risks that come with them. It enables Dillinger to kidnap, kill, destroy, and lie in good conscience. In his worldview, the system itself becomes proof, enabling his conviction. Fuel flows, the economy grows, and the lights stay on. Jennifer arrives at a very different conviction. She believes some places should not be sacrificed for industrial convenience, and that communities and ecosystems have value that cannot be measured on a balance sheet. The story that follows is not only a struggle between two people. It is a struggle between two ideas of what counts as valid in our world.
The quote also resonates in today’s political environment. Public debate increasingly revolves around competing narratives about climate change, public lands, energy, and economic growth. Facts may matter, but they are often filtered through belief systems and political identities. In that sense, societies really do resemble Powers’ “experiment.” Ideas compete for attention. Narratives spread through social media like a game of whispering down the lane, shifting slightly as they pass from one person to another. In the end, conviction can sometimes outweigh evidence.
That is why environmental activists like those volunteering for Antheia matter in the story and in the real world. They challenge assumptions that have long been treated as unquestionable truths. When one person decides that what is happening is wrong, the world’s “experiment” suddenly becomes a test. And as Powers suggests, the outcome may depend less on who is technically correct than on whose conviction proves strong enough to change the course of events.
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Antheia in the Thorns is an environmental thriller about power, corruption, loss, and regaining purpose. Marilynne Eichinger follows Jennifer Russo, a grieving mother who lost a child, and Abdul Hammed Dillinger, who escaped his father's cruelty. Together their stories illuminate the effect trauma has on behavior and how individuals evolve over time. Human lives are complex, influenced by environment and happenstance. The second thriller in the Rightfully Mine series remains at a reduced price while we get the word out. Your early reviews are greatly appreciated. Purchase at AMAZON SERIES.
3/13/2026 3:48:43 PM
Over the Fence: From Rags to Riches : When poor people climb over the fence to wealth, some never feel they have enough and keep grasping for more, while others share their good fortune at having achieved success.
Why Thank the Merchants of Death? — The Undershaft Paradox: When Wealth from War Pays for Peace
Why do we celebrate fortunes that were built on suffering simply because they later fund good works? That question reminds me of Major Barbara, the 1905 play by George Bernard Shaw. When my children still lived under my roof, we used to have play readings. Everyone would take a part, and afterward we'd talk about the play and the messages we found in it. Major Barbara. Was one of my all-time favorites.
It is a satirical play that explores the conflict between idealistic morality and the harsh realities of capitalism. The story follows Barbara Undershaft, a devoted Salvation Army officer, whose mission is to save souls and help the poor. Her faith is shaken when her estranged father, Andrew Undershaft, a wealthy armaments manufacturer, offers to fund her shelter. His donation forces her to confront an uncomfortable truth: her charity may depend on money earned through the instruments of war.
Barbara's ideals begin to crumble when her father argues that the wealth and power he gained from selling weapons do more to fight poverty than religion ever could. When the Salvation Army accepts his donation, Barbara experiences a crisis of faith, feeling as though her work has been bought by the devil. Yet through that disillusionment, she begins to see the world more pragmatically. In the end, she and her fiancé decide they might accomplish more good by working within the powerful industrial system her father represents.
Shaw's argument is provocative: poverty, not wealth, is the true evil, and that moral action may require the resources of industry and power. Our family readings of the play often led to lively discussions about morality, power, and the uneasy line between right and wrong
In the United States, we have seen similar paradoxes. Andrew Carnegie, the great steel magnate, built his fortune on the backs of laborers who worked exhausting twelve-hour shifts. His companies were known for ruthless union-busting, wage cuts, and violent strikebreaking. Yet Carnegie later funded thousands of public libraries across the country. His legacy lives on through institutions such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which today supports research on democracy, nuclear risk, and international relations.
Perhaps the most striking example is Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. Nobel built a vast industrial empire producing explosives used in mining, construction, and warfare. Late in life he reportedly read a mistaken obituary describing him as "the merchant of death," a man who had grown rich by inventing ways to kill more people faster than ever before. When Nobel died in 1896, he left most of his fortune to create the Nobel Foundation, which awards the Nobel Prize, including the famous Nobel Peace Prize. Wealth built on explosives became the patron of the world's most prestigious awards for peace, literature, and science.
In Shaw's era, the paradox was steel and artillery funding libraries. Today, the paradox may be the algorithms and weapons funding think tanks about ethics and democracy. Shaw's fictional arms manufacturer Andrew Undershaft feels less like satire and more like prophecy. Modern equivalents can be found in the defense technology world with figures such as Peter Thiel, co-founder of Palantir Technologies. Palantir's data-analysis platforms are widely used by military and intelligence agencies, while Thiel simultaneously funds intellectual ventures such as the Thiel Fellowship and other philosophical discussions about technology, freedom, and the future of civilization.
Another contemporary example is Anduril Industries and its founder, Palmer Luckey. The company builds autonomous defense systems and surveillance technologies. Luckey also supports debates about geopolitics, artificial intelligence, and the ethics of warfare. The company's underlying claim echoes Undershaft's argument: technological dominance prevents even greater violence.
Does it? Do you believe this?
Somehow, there is a disconnect I struggle to grasp. Why kill and maim millions to make a few people wealthy? And when those same fortunes later fund libraries, universities, and foundations, why do we thank their benefactors? Shaw argued that poverty was the greatest evil. But should the cure always come from the profits of war? Should people who confess their crimes be instantly forgiven?
Friends and family come together for game nights, murder mystery parties, sporting events, and meals. If you want to have a stimulating activity that's out of the ordinary, read Major Barbara with them one evening
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Antheia in the Thorns is an environmental thriller about power, corruption, loss, and regaining purpose. Marilynne Eichinger follows Jennifer Russo, a grieving mother who lost a child, and Abdul Hammed Dillinger, who escaped his father's cruelty. Together their stories illuminate the effect trauma has on behavior and how individuals evolve over time. Human lives are complex, influenced by environment and happenstance. The second thriller in the Rightfully Mine series remains at a reduced price while we get the word out. Your early reviews are greatly appreciated.
On sale at AMAZON SERIES.
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3/6/2026 3:36:11 PM
GOLD STATIC
It requires stamina to wade through the static interfering with your happiness.
Walking at the Speed of Remembrance: One of the quiet shocks of aging is the way time begins to accelerate. Memories no longer line up politely in order. They arrive in flashes, scenes tumbling through the mind like leaves caught in a sudden wind. Some are warm. Others still sting.
My earliest memory is of my father leaving for Europe during the Second World War. My grandpa, too old to fight, patrolled the neighborhood streets at night, making sure blackout shades were pulled tight against the windows. Grandma tended a tiny victory garden next to their garage. My aunt and her young son moved into our house. She and my mother counted food coupons carefully at the grocery store, stretching what little they had.
On Saturday afternoons, I was sent to the movie theater where I sat with over a hundred children, watching newsreels before the matinee. Nazi soldiers marched and saluted Hitler. Jewish families were herded into trucks and trains. Books burned in towering fires. On the American home front, we also saw Japanese American families forced from their homes, boarding buses bound for relocation camps in places I had never heard of. I was too young to understand what any of it meant. Only after the war ended did I learn that more than six million Jewish people had been murdered, and that 120,000 Japanese American citizens had been imprisoned by their own government.
For years after the war, I distrusted Germans, even those who may have been powerless bystanders to what was happening around them. At the same time, I believed Americans would never commit such cruelty ourselves. I did not yet know about the internment camps scattered across our own country. I thought only, how could the Germans have allowed this to happen? Then came the Cold War, and fear took on a different shape. The McCarthy hearings ruined the careers of movie stars, artists, and scientists I admired. Newspaper headlines shouted about communism, socialism, the Red threat, and the looming possibility of nuclear war. Schools practiced air-raid drills. Kids crouched beneath desks as if thin wood could shield them from a bomb. My friends and I envied the families wealthy enough to build bomb shelters in their backyards. I was living in Boston then and imagined our city would be among the first to vanish in a flash of light.
When the Cold War finally ended and the Berlin Wall fell, I again found myself asking uncomfortable questions. How had I, a college-educated woman, absorbed so much fear without questioning it? The nations that had lived for decades under the Soviet flag were suddenly struggling for independence. The world I thought I understood had been built partly on propaganda about fighting for peace. Yet the wars did not stop. Cuba. Korea. Vietnam. Cambodia. Afghanistan. Iraq. Ukraine. Gaza. This week, Iran. The numbers of the dead blur together: millions here, hundreds of thousands there, depending on who is counting and how the counting is done. Behind every number is a body, a family, a life interrupted. Heaven only knows how many survivors carry injuries that will never heal.
Now, when I watch the devastation in Gaza and see immigrant families sent to concentration centers in our country, I hear the same questions echoing back to me. How does such suffering become possible? Why does the United States keep fanning the flames rather than putting out the fires? How do ordinary Americans accept what is going on? All my life, I was told these wars were necessary. We were different, our leaders said. We are not cruel. We were defending freedom. We were protecting democracy. I believed it for a long time.
But age has a way of stripping away simple stories. The world looks less certain now, our country less righteous than it once seemed. Power has concentrated in the hands of the wealthy and the ambitious. Leaders speak openly about expanding influence in Canada, Greenland, Cuba, Gaza, Venezuela, Mexico, as if borders mean nothing. From beyond our shores, many people look at us with confusion. Some with anger. They ask how Americans allowed such a moment to arrive. Are Americans stupid, spineless, or just plain mean? Lately, I find myself asking the same questions over and over.
The memories and the fears keep coming, faster now, as if time itself were urging me not to forget. Despite it all, I believe my countrymen and women are basically good, willing to help each other and those who are less fortunate. They won’t let a few power-hungry billionaires control our democratic institutions—or will they?
The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (and women) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” To me, that means voting for people who will guarantee those rights. It means having the right to pure air, clean water, and a land devoid of pollutants. The good and evil within each of us engage in ongoing fights for superiority. The Rightfully Mine Series was started, in part, to nudge these battles to end on the high ground, benefiting all.
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In the Rightfully Mine novels, readers witness how people balance extremes. The greedy are at times generous, the weak are often strong, and the charitable can be self-centered, harming others. My recently released thriller, Antheia in the Thorns, shows this complexity beautifully. Abdul Dillinger learns how to control others, eliminating threats he deems necessary. Yet he is a loving father, a family man, who is also good to his wife and the mistresses that she does’t like but acknowledges. Jennifer Russo becomes so wrapped up in her depression she can’t see is blind to how her illness affected her husband. Her husband, who used to hike and preserve natural areas, practices law that keeps polluters from being punished. The characters are complex, with egos that occasionally get in their way. There is much to learn about the environment and my books, but there is more to explore about human nature. Advanced copies of Antheia in the Thorns and The Water Factor can be purchased online at AMAZON SERIES
Art is alwasy for sale and shipped free in the continental U.S. Gold Static can be purchased online at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/4268940/gold-static#/
2/27/2026 2:23:14 PM
SUNLIGHT PUSHING THROUG SMOG
The Price of Speaking Up
The freedoms we depend on are rarely removed in dramatic fashion. They don’t vanish overnight. More often, they’re adjusted, narrowed, or reinterpreted—so gradually that most of us don’t notice until something essential feels different.
The safeguards written into law were meant to protect ordinary people: the ability to speak freely, gather peacefully, live without fear, drink clean water, breathe clean air. On paper, those promises still exist. The harder question is how they hold up when they collide with concentrated power and profit.
The real battlegrounds today aren’t always visible. They aren’t marked by headlines or flashing lights. They’re found in zoning decisions, environmental permits, trade agreements, and regulatory fine print. They surface in water bills, air quality reports, and access to public lands. If clean water is a commodity instead of a shared necessity, who absorbs the cost? If air quality standards are loosened, who lives closest to the fallout? If public lands are stripped for short-term gain, what happens to the animals and the communities who depend on them for livelihood, recreation, and cultural memory?
These questions don’t announce themselves as moral debates. They arrive in political forums wrapped in technical language and procedure. They are debated in hearings most people never attend and decided in documents few have time to read.
While writing Antheia in the Thorns, I began thinking about how often environmental harm lands unevenly. Petroleum coke in the novel, like numerous environmental hazards, isn’t only an ecological concern. It becomes a question of fairness of who benefits and who bears the burden. Those who speak up don’t just face pollution; they face resistance from systems designed to exhaust them.
Powerful people don’t always shout. They delay, bury, litigate, and reframe. They make the process so complicated and expensive that ordinary people begin to doubt whether it’s worth continuing.
What does it take to turn a grieving anthropologist into someone willing to confront that machinery? Jennifer Russo doesn’t begin as a hero. She begins as a woman trying to survive her own loss. Brian Adakai, Antheia’s local director, doesn’t seek conflict; he wants to protect and to tell the truth. Circumstances force a choice many of us hope we’ll never have to make: stay quiet and stay safe, or speak and accept the consequences.
We tend to believe that if something is wrong, the system will correct it. That truth will prevail on its own. But history suggests that correction usually requires someone willing to endure discomfort, criticism, and risk. Yet the erosion of protections rarely happens in a single sweeping act. It happens through small concessions, procedural shifts, loopholes, and “temporary” adjustments that become permanent. Each change may seem minor. Together, they redraw the boundaries of what we accept.
Clean air, safe water, and public lands are not abstract ideals. They are daily realities. They are the unnoticed background conditions that allow communities and economies to function. When those conditions shift, the effects ripple outward. The question beneath The Water Factor and Antheia in the Thorns is not simply who is right or who is wrong. It’s more subtle than that. It asks: What is the cost of speaking up? And what is the cost of remaining silent? If you’re drawn to stories where power operates behind closed doors and ordinary people find themselves facing something larger than they expected, and if you enjoy reading thrillers, Antheia in the Thorns will resonate with you.
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Art is always for sale. Sunlight Pushing Through Smog can be purchased on my website at SUNLIGHT. COntact me with questions at [email protected].
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Antheia in the Thorns is on Amazon for a reduced price for early purchasers. An honest review on Amazon, should you choose to read it, helps more than most readers realize. The ebook and paperback versions of Antheia in the Thorns are currently on Amazon at an introductory price. An audio version is coming. It will be in bookstores later this spring.
1/9/2026 3:42:13 PM
HEAVEN AND BEYOND
We must never forget that we are part of the universe and subject to its laws above all else.
Behind the Scenes of Antheia in the Thorns
Writing environmental thrillers in an era when government leaders openly mock global warming is a challenge. How do you present scientific information to a public riddled with doubts reinforced by the very leaders they voted into power? The task is especially difficult because my fiction is grounded in real-world events. People can rightly say that much of my story is imagined.
However, like many writers I respect, I believe the novel is the perfect place to explore the possible outcomes of a society that disavows scientific studies and replaces them with hearsay promoted by corporations more interested in profit than the public’s right to the truth. To deny global warming, climate change, and the pollution caused by oil and coal is, in my mind, unconscionable. Yet nature won’t let us bury the truth.
This week, I watched a NOVA program showing what is happening in the Arctic as it warms faster than even scientists once predicted. Large sinkholes are forming in thawing permafrost, weakening building foundations and releasing methane into the atmosphere. Houston is sinking by one-fifth of an inch per year, with some areas subsiding by as much as two inches annually. Eight major U.S. cities—New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Dallas—account for more than 60 percent of the population living on sinking land. These cities are already experiencing increased flooding. New York City has discussed building barriers along its shores, installing a gate around the harbor, and relocating people from the most hazardous regions.
It’s not only rising waters and sinking land that are of concern, but also the dramatic increase in asthma, now affecting more than 250 million people worldwide. The tiny particles we breathe come from traffic emissions, industrial activity, fireplaces, and disintegrating plastics. Long-term exposure to pollution has caused increases in cardiovascular disease, stroke, lung cancer, and other respiratory illnesses. Nearly half of the U.S. population lives in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution.
Antheia in the Thorns, the second novel in my Rightfully Mine series, is about to be published. It centers on a highly polluting, heat-raising product that few Americans know about, even though the United States is its largest producer. This oil-based energy source is processed into a substance resembling coal. It burns hotter than coal, is cheaper to produce, and is exported to India, China, and Africa—contributing significantly to global warming. Its continued production and sale demand scrutiny.
The thrill of seeing ordinary people confront corporations willing to dispose of anyone who gets in their way is life-affirming. It is ordinary people who ultimately bring about change. My first novel, The Water Factor, explored what happens when water is treated as a commodity rather than a public right. Antheia in the Thorns asks whether there should also be a right to clean air—and to live without constant fear of floods, fires, or toxic exposure. Though the story is a page-turner and its characters come from my imagination, its incidents are based on actual events.
I’ll let you know the moment Antheia in the Thorns becomes available for purchase later this month. Your purchase and review on Amazon will help it get off to a good start.. As with The Water Factor, I hope it sparks lively book club discussions about accountability, power, and what we owe one another in a rapidly changing world.
References:
Krajick,K (2025). America is Sinking: 28 Major Cities Are Slowly Going Under. SciTechDaily. Retrieved from https://scitechdaily.com/america-is-sinking-28-major-cities-are-slowly-going-under/
Surico, J. & Underwood, N. (2025), New York Is Going to Flood. Here’s What the City Can Do to Survive. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/10/15/nyregion/new-york-climate-flooding-solutions.html
(Staff (2024)Air Pollution’s Role in Rising Global Asthma Cases. American Journal Of Medicine, Retrieved from https://www.emjreviews.com/en-us/amj/respiratory/news/air-pollutions-role-in-rising-global-asthma-cases/
Art is always for sale. Heaven and Beyond can be purchased on my website at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/1662380/heaven-and-beyond#/
I look forward to your comments on my blog site at
The Water Factor is an International Firebird Book Award winner for best dystopian novel and a Literary Titan Gold Award recipient for best thriller. The novel is available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. It can be purchased on AMAZON, Barnes and Noble, and Powell Books Online and as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Ask your bookstore to order a copy from Ingram. Please leave a review.
1/2/2026 6:01:57 PM
IBIS: Filling the Void
FEELING EMPTY WHILE HAVING IT ALL
Over the holidays, I had several conversations that stayed with me long after they ended. I spoke with different people, living very different lives, yet beneath each exchange lingered the same quiet question: Is this all there is? Those conversations led me to think more deeply about emptiness, and about how easily it is misunderstood.
We are born as empty vessels, not deficient but open, waiting to be shaped by experience. While the news often focuses on childhoods marked by trauma, most of us grow up in homes that are loving, stable, and quietly nurturing. As infants, we learn to signal hunger and comfort, warmth and fear. We laugh at silly faces and fall asleep in familiar arms. Curiosity pulls us forward—first crawling, then walking—opening our minds to an ever-widening world. We ask endless questions, and each answer expands our sense of what is possible. Over time, our lives fill slowly, piece by piece, guided by parents and relatives toward school, careers, relationships, and the versions of success our culture values most.
I was fortunate to grow up in a loving extended family. What I value most from that time was not security or achievement, but the nurturing of my curiosity. My parents did not treat my questions as nuisances. Instead, they encouraged them. That early permission to wonder still shapes how I experience the world. I do not experience the open space inside myself as emptiness, but as room—room for new ideas, new experiences, and new ways of seeing.
Many of the people I counsel experience that same inner space very differently. On paper, their lives look complete: education, careers, homes, families. Yet they describe a hollowness they struggle to name. It is not exactly sadness. It is more a sense that life has lost its texture and meaning, that they are going through the motions without feeling fully present. The question their thoughts circle when alone is unsettling in its simplicity: Is this all there is?
This feeling often emerges during times of change. It can surface after a marriage ends, when children leave home, or when retirement arrives without a clear next chapter. It also appears when work or daily life becomes repetitive and uninspiring. Outwardly, everything looks fine, but inwardly, there is fatigue and disconnection. Meaning rarely announces its absence loudly. It tends to fade quietly, and that quiet can be dangerous.
Psychologist Muhammad Tuhin offers a helpful perspective: “Emptiness isn’t a sign of failure. It’s often the product of living according to someone else’s definition of success.” In a culture shaped by visibility and performance, it is easy to confuse appearing fulfilled with actually being fulfilled. Emptiness, then, may have less to do with lack than with misalignment—the growing distance between who we are and who we have learned to present to the world.
I saw this clearly while managing a “Do You Need a Mother?” booth at a summer music festival. Many visitors in their forties and fifties spoke candidly about losing their sense of purpose. Some had left lucrative careers to search for meaning through travel. When they returned, however, they were unwilling to step into lower-paying work that felt more aligned with their values. Still shaped by an early definition of success that equated worth with income, they found themselves struggling financially and emotionally, uncertain how to move forward. Their search for meaning remained unresolved.
What struck me was not their failure, but their honesty. In these moments, emptiness was not an endpoint but a signal. Though the hollowness they felt suggested it was time to move on, they had not yet discovered where to go next.
Emptiness has little to do with financial circumstances, yet once it takes hold, it can be difficult to escape. The only real option is to pay attention to the space it creates, because that space can become an opening through which curiosity returns. At first, this curiosity may be small and unimpressive, taking the form of questions without immediate answers or interests that do not earn approval. Over time, however, meaning often reemerges quietly.
For some, it returns through time spent in nature. For others, it is rekindled through cooking, art, music, or helping someone else. Meaning rarely arrives fully formed. More often, it grows through attention.
Curiosity requires energy to survive. Movement, rest, connection, and reflection all matter. So does noticing what brings warmth or light into an ordinary week and allowing that to matter. It was not until I retired that I took writing seriously. I had to consider what I wanted to say and why I wanted to say it. My novel Antheia in the Thorns, which explores corporate environmental crime, is about to be published, and a third novel is currently being edited. Writing did not eliminate emptiness for me. Instead, it transformed it into spaciousness.
When emptiness begins to soften, it often gives way to a sense of freedom. The pressure to become someone new diminishes, leaving room to become more fully you. Emptiness is not a broken state. It can be energizing to realize that, at any age, you are still unfinished, with more of yourself—and more of life—waiting to be explored.
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I look forward to your comments. Have you ever been plagued with emptiness? How did you overcome it?
Art is always for sale. Ibis can be purchased on my website by going to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6373371/ibis#/ Questions" Contact me at [email protected]
For information about my books, click on my author's website at https://www.secretsofamuseumjunkie.com
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References:
Scottie, (2025) The True Peri: Emptiness, Not Sadness. NW Survival Magazine. zRetrieved from https://www.nwsurvival.us/2025/10/31/emptiness-not-sadness/
Tuhin, M. (2025). Why We Feel Empty Even When Life Looks Full. Science News Today. Retrieved from https://www.sciencenewstoday.org/why-we-feel-empty-even-when-life-looks-full
12/19/2025 2:05:03 PM
Curtain’s Up
Music and painting have a way of lifting our spirits and uniting us. They pull back the curtains separating people and soften the differences that weigh us down.
Reason Vs. Dogma
The Puritans came to the New World seeking religious freedom from the Church of England, which they believed had not gone far enough in breaking from Catholicism and still retained too many “Popish” rituals. They founded what became the Congregationalist tradition, grounded in the belief that churches should be autonomous, self-governing communities of worshipers. Christ, not bishops, was the ultimate authority.
Their faith rested on Calvinist doctrine, including predestination: the belief that God had already determined who would be saved and who would be damned, independent of human merit. This worldview demanded strict moral behavior and absolute obedience to scripture. While it offered certainty, it left little room for individual conscience or spiritual flexibility.
By the early 1800s, a reformed branch of Congregationalism emerged in response to a rapidly changing world shaped by industrial capitalism, scientific discovery, and social upheaval. This movement eventually broke away to form Unitarianism, which emphasized internal spiritual principles rather than miracles as the foundation of conscience. Unitarians believed each person could connect directly with the spiritual world and that every soul possessed inherent worth, without a division between the saved and the damned.
The Congregationalists established Harvard College to educate ministers and civic leaders with a Calvinist foundation. Over time, however, Harvard’s curriculum grew more liberal, shifting toward Unitarian thought and emphasizing reason, intellect, and moral philosophy. Many of these early Unitarians were drawn to a philosophical and literary movement gaining traction in Europe: Transcendentalism.
The term “transcendental” traces back to Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason (1788), which explored how moral knowledge arises from human reason and inner experience. In America, the movement took shape in the 1830s, notably after a meeting at Harvard’s Bicentennial celebration in 1836 attended by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
Transcendentalists believed in individualism, self-reliance, and direct spiritual experience. They saw nature as a primary source of truth and rejected rigid doctrines that reinforced social hierarchy and materialism. What stayed with me from transcendentalist writing was the idea that freedom of thought was necessary if people were to live honestly.
Crucially, transcendentalists extended this belief beyond the privileged. They recognized the enslaved, the imprisoned, and the mentally and physically challenged as full members of society, entitled to equal spiritual and moral consideration. Personal liberty, in their view, was inseparable from social justice.
These ideas spread throughout the young nation, shaping both its literature and its politics. Emerson’s essays challenged conformity and urged moral independence. Thoreau’s Walden and later Civil Disobedience championed simplicity, nonconformity, and ethical resistance. The movement also drew figures such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Elizabeth Peabody—who pioneered the kindergarten movement in the United States—and Margaret Fuller, a leading advocate for women’s rights.
Several U.S. presidents were directly connected to Unitarian or transcendentalist thought. John Adams moved from Congregationalism toward Unitarianism, rejecting the divinity of Christ as incompatible with reason. His son, John Quincy Adams, helped found the First Unitarian Church of Washington, D.C. Millard Fillmore was a longtime member of a Unitarian congregation in Buffalo, and William Howard Taft openly identified as Unitarian and supported the American Unitarian Association.
Other presidents, while not formally affiliated, reflected transcendentalist ideals in their thinking. Thomas Jefferson championed intellectual freedom and the pursuit of knowledge. James Madison emphasized personal conscience and moral responsibility. Abraham Lincoln’s focus on self-reliance and ethical duty echoes transcendentalist influence, as does Rutherford B. Hayes’s commitment to education and social reform.
I was not raised in a Unitarian household, but growing up on the East Coast meant absorbing many of these ideas almost by osmosis. I still hold them close. I remember classrooms where questioning was encouraged. and dinner-table discussions where disagreements livened the conversation. I looked to science and nature for understanding, and I believed in the inherent worth of every human being. Most of all, I’ve learned that deeply held differences don’t have to lead to hatred or fear, and that they don’t have to end the dialogue.
As I move into a new year, transcendental principles feel less like history and more like the world I remember. Empathy, curiosity, and moral courage have long been part of the American experiment. I’ll try to carry them forward in small, ordinary ways; by listening, by questioning, and by resisting the urge to reduce people to labels.
My hope for 2026 is a simple one: more room for thoughtful disagreement, more generosity of spirit, and a renewed faith in our shared humanity. I wish you a peaceful holiday season spent with those you love, and an openness to cherishing the good in one another.
Peer into a transcendentalist heart through Marilynne’s art and books.
Artist website at www.eichingerfineart.com
Author’s website at www.secretsofamuseumjunkie.com
References:
1) Gura, P. (2012). Transcendentalism and Social Reform. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Retrieved from https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/transcendentalism-and-social-reform
2) Cole, P. 19198 Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentlism. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/mary-moody-emerson-and-the-origins-of-transcendentalism?
3)William R. Hutchison, The Transcendental Ministers: Church Reform in the New England Renaissance (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959), is still the best source for the religious roots of the controversy between younger and older Unitarians.
4) Emerson makes the distinction between the Reason and Understanding in his "Divinity School Address" of 1838. He speaks of the Oversoul in 1841 in the essay by that name.
5) Richard Francis, Fruitlands: The Alcott Family and Their Search for Utopia (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010).
6) Elizabeth Peabody, "Egotheism, the Atheism of Today" (1858), reprinted in idem., Last Evening with Allston and Other Papers (Boston: D. Lathrop, 1886), 3.
7) Ralph Waldo Emerson to Moncure Daniel Conway, June 6, 1860, in Ralph L. Rusk and Eleanor M. Tilton, Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 10 vols. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1939–1995), 5: 221; and Emerson, Journals and Miscellaneous Notebooks, ed. William H. Gilman, et al., 16 vols. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1960–1982), 14: 352–353.
8) Octavius Brooks Frothingham, Transcendentalism in New England: A History (New York: Putnam, 1876), 331.
12/6/2025 10:53:33 AM
AMERICAN BEAUTY. She may be a convincing speaker and attractive to look at, but it doesn't mean she'll be a good leader.
Leadership Is Not About You
Last week, I was invited to speak at an international leadership conference in London. As I considered what to say, I realized how often leadership is presented as a toolkit—team-building frameworks, efficiency metrics, time-management hacks. Useful, yes, but rarely the heart of the matter. What most conversations skip is the simplest, hardest question: How do you make people actually want to follow you?
Mission helps, but it isn’t enough: Managing a nonprofit may seem easier than managing a commercial business because staff usually arrive with a built-in sense of purpose. They want to contribute to the public good. A leader’s job is not to ignite that flame but to keep it burning brightly, ensuring every team member understands the mission well enough to explain it to their family, their friends, and themselves on difficult days.
Founding a nonprofit and growing it by leaps rather than inches is just as challenging as starting a for-profit business. When I started Impression Five Science Museum in Michigan, and later while serving as president of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the obstacles were the same: raising visibility, attracting funding, and navigating a thicket of competition and regulations. Older organizations sometimes feared we would siphon their support when we decided to move and expand. Government rules shifted like sand, forcing us to develop a riverfront walkway that added millions to the cost. To survive, founders need passion deep enough to outlast rejection and skepticism. They must communicate clearly, not just with wealthy donors but with people from every background, and stay open to feedback that reshapes their ideas.
Leadership sets the tone with immediate results: When I first went to city hall in Michigan seeking support for my fledgling museum, the mayor’s executive assistant dismissed me with a curt instruction to “get in a five-year line.” Her posture, her tone, even the set of her face said, Don’t bother. The man at the top was budget-driven and allergic to new ideas. The negativity I felt when entering city hall shifted when a new mayor was elected with a can-do mindset. He listened to constituents’ ideas to improve the community and his energy changed the entire staff’s attitude.
That lesson stayed with me: the person at the top creates the emotional climate for everyone else.
The best leaders don’t stand above, they stand with: After 25 years of running museums, I left to start a national educational products catalog. That’s where I learned that leadership has little to do with hierarchy and everything to do with the daily emotional reality of the workplace. A president may sit at the “head” of an organization, but the real movement comes from the arms, legs, and hands. A good leader keeps the whole system healthy.
For me, that meant helping every person—from janitors to call-center staff—understand why their work mattered. We weren’t shipping toys; we were helping children learn and grow. In December, warehouse staff joked that they were “Santa’s helpers,” and they meant it. Call-center employees took pride in matching products to children’s learning styles. Having a purpose made the work feel meaningful.
Everyone has ideas : Suggestions were welcomed from every corner of the building. Receptionists and warehouse workers are often underemployed but full of insight. When someone brought me an idea, I often asked them to explore it further and report back. More than once, a temporary employee became permanent because they showed initiative and creativity. An assistant bookkeeper asked to organize a safety committee did a fantastic job, perhaps better than asking a manager. It gave her a chance to shine.
We also recognized contributions through PRIDE (People Rising In Doing Excellence) awards. Recipients received a stuffed pride animal on their desk for a week. Colleagues would stop by, curious to hear the story behind it. Anyone could nominate someone else—for helping move boxes, sharing lunch, supporting a colleague who was overwhelmed, or pitching in during a tight deadline. We announced the nominations at executive meetings, with applause, ensuring the quiet acts of kindness and effort were recognized.
Leadership at its core, is about worth: Last year, I visited Santa Fe and met with one of the first people I ever hired—an educator from my Michigan museum fifty years ago. She now owns and operates two art galleries, including one in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Over lunch, she told me a story I had long forgotten. Early in her career, she hesitantly came to my office with an idea for a new program. She expected to be dismissed. Instead, she said, I encouraged her to develop it—and promised to help her find the funds to make it happen.
“That moment changed my life,” she told me. It gave her the courage to pursue her dreams when she moved to New Mexico. When employees feel their work contributes to society, life becomes more meaningful. When they feel respected, heard, and included, they bring their full selves to the task. Leadership is not about the leader’s ego or vision. It’s about creating an environment where others feel valued and purposeful.
Please share your leadership experiences, both good and bad. Both are enlightening and lead to personal growth. Share at
Art is always for sale. AMERICAN BEAUTY's price was reduced for the holiday season. Price includes shipping in continental U.S. Painting is a 40" by 24 " acrylic painting. Purchased online at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/1650119/american-beauty#/
Don't know what to give for this holiday. Buy a book. The Water Factor is a thriller based on fact, offering hours of pleasureable reading. The Water Factor is available through Powells Books, Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble.
11/21/2025 8:49:30 PM
How do you know when a painting is finished? Parenting is a painting I posted before, but it felt incomplete, and I decided it needed editing. Hope you like the finished product.
Edit, Edit, Edit – It Takes Time
I began writing Antheia in the Thorns in 2016, shortly after Donald Trump became president. It was my first attempt at a novel. The story centered on a little-known industrial product called petroleum coke, or petcoke, and its role in global warming and pollution. While the storyline had potential, my writing at the time was mediocre.
I put the novel aside when Joe Biden was elected. He acknowledged the urgency of climate change and was enacting policies to reduce the U.S. carbon footprint. During his presidency, I hired a writing coach who critiqued my work as I wrote, helping me refine my craft. That guidance led to my award-winning book, The Water Factor, which has been deeply rewarding to see readers respond to.
When Trump returned to power, I realized Antheia in the Thorns could be more than a story—it could be a vital work of geopolitical environmental fiction. The president was increasing, rather than decreasing, the use of petroleum-based products. Suddenly, the novel felt worth rewriting.
Petroleum coke resembles coal but burns hotter. It’s cheaper, more polluting, and contributes more to global warming than coal. The U.S. is the world’s largest producer, with 59 refineries supplying local industries: cement plants, aluminum production, graphite electrode manufacturing, steel and titanium dioxide kilns, and power plants. Most of it is exported to China and India, with secondary markets in Europe, Central and South America, and other Asian countries.
I realized I had an important story to tell. After more than a dozen rewrites, plus feedback from beta readers and my writer’s group, Antheia in the Thorns has evolved into a geopolitical environmental thriller that both engrosses and challenges readers. It’s a story about courage, conscience, and confronting corporate greed. Antheia, the goddess of gardens and love, faces a thorny world where entrepreneurs will do anything to make millions. My Kirkus reviewer praised the book for keeping the reader interested until the very last page.
Antheia in the Thorns will be available for presale at a reduced price as an ebook in early January. I hope you’ll consider purchasing it and sharing your review—it will help ensure a successful launch. I’m counting on my best supporters and will keep you posted as we get closer to that date.
This Thanksgiving, I wish you warmth and joy surrounded by friends and family. If you find yourself alone this year, I wish you peace and leave you with this timeless poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded
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You can find information and purchase Parenting on my website at. https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6292511/parenting#/
Paintings and books make great gifts. Last week, I Zoomed into a book club discussion of The Water Factor held in Pennsylvania. It is a great way to enrich your club's reading, and I do it without cost. Purchase my books in time for a holiday delivery, and can do that for you. Better yet, have them read the book now, gather round the Christmas tree for a lively discussion, and I'll join you online. Great free entertainment. Contact me at [email protected] with questions.
10/25/2025 11:41:37 AM
PARENTING: Rope them in and keep them tight
When Parents Go Spouse Hunting
The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article that made me laugh. Every Friday and Saturday morning, hundreds of parents gather in a hilltop park in Chongqing, in southwestern China. In English, it’s called a marriage market—a matchmaking fair where mostly retirees hunt for spouses for their adult children.
The parents carry paper “resumés” that double as dating profiles. Alongside standard details like gender, height, and occupation, they list what their children want in a partner—and what they don’t. They even include information that would be taboo in the U.S., such as weight, income, and whether the parents receive pensions. Photos are optional. Some attendees are professional matchmakers who flip through notebooks filled with dozens of proposals.
The consensus among them? Today’s young adults simply aren’t interested in settling down. Many women, in particular, refuse to give up careers to become full-time “education moms” with soccer vans. They want independence—not domestic servitude or financial dependence on unfaithful husbands.
When mothers try to help, the advice can be unintentionally comical. At a workshop for single women, attendees were told that when asked about hobbies, they should reply with three things: cooking, flower arranging, and traveling with their mothers. I can’t imagine any American woman saying that with a straight face.
Marriage in China is changing—just as it has in the U.S. In 2024, a nation of 1.4 billion people registered only 6.1 million marriages, about 4.35 per 1,000 people. By comparison, the U.S. saw 2.36 million marriages in 2023, a temporary rebound to 6.2 per 1,000 after the pandemic backlog—but still far below the 2011 rate of 16.3 per 1,000.
For traditional Asian parents, marriage remains essential for many reasons:
- It honors parents by continuing the family line.
- It ensures children won’t grow old alone or unsupported.
- It maintains social harmony through stable households.
- It protects against gossip and social stigma.
- It secures future grandchildren to carry on the name.
Even the Chinese government worries about the nation’s declining birthrate and aging population. But changing values have created a widening generation gap. Younger adults prioritize career, independence, and emotional compatibility over early marriage. Their reluctance has fueled the very rise of these marriage markets, which their parents now frequent.
The U.S. went through this transition decades earlier. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that among unmarried adults ages 18–24, 73% feel little or no pressure to marry, and 67% aren’t pressured to have children. American parents now emphasize financial independence, education, and career success over marriage and family. From what I’ve read, China’s next generation of parents may soon adopt a similar outlook.
The trend toward fewer marriages and smaller families spans nearly all economically developed nations. My own theory about why this is occurring is unconventional: perhaps this is nature’s way of healing itself. With the global population straining resources, and pollution and climate change worsening, the Earth may be quietly encouraging balance—fewer people, fewer demands, a chance to recover.
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I look forward to your comments.
I started an inexpensive series of abstract paintings about life. Did your parents push you into marriage or having children? Do you push your own adult children to do the same? See what it looks like in a room and purchase online delivered https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/6292511/parenting#/
10/18/2025 6:21:02 PM
The Power of Hobbies to Keep You Sane and Why Schools Should Teach More Than Career Skills
During COVID, I took out my frustrations on canvas. Replanting the Garden was painted in May, when people were using their gardens as an escape from isolation with hopes that the pandemic would be short-lived. Flying High was painted in June, when kites were flying, as was the disease. We knew then that an ending wasn't in sight. Painting is one of the activities I use to relieve stress.
Most public schools today focus on preparing students for college, while a few trade schools prepare their students for careers.
While those goals are important, they overlook something equally vital to lifelong well-being: the development of hobbies. When I was a child, hobbies weren’t an afterthought — they were part of daily life. My parents and grandparents set the example. My mother and grandmother taught me sewing, knitting, crocheting, and art. My father took me fishing, played catch during baseball season, and spent weekends golfing. My grandfather, an accomplished photographer, had a darkroom in his basement where magic seemed to happen under the red glow of the safelight.
Throughout my childhood, I took ballet and piano lessons, attended art and craft classes, and went to children’s symphony concerts and plays. I ice skated, played tennis, skied, and rode horses. Some activities stuck; others didn’t. But each experience helped me discover what truly brought me joy.
Today, in retirement, I still write, paint, and stay physically active every day — habits rooted in those early experiences.
Schools also played a role back then. Home economics, shop, and music were required courses, teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing, woodworking, and metalworking. Summer programs kept us busy with crafts and sports. These opportunities weren’t expensive — many were free — and every child I knew participated in something. We weren’t glued to screens or gaming with strangers; we were building skills, confidence, and lifelong passions.
Research backs up what many of us intuitively know. A 2023 study in Nature Medicine found that among 93,000 adults over age 65, those with hobbies reported better health, greater happiness, fewer symptoms of depression, and higher life satisfaction. Another study from Drexel University revealed that just 45 minutes of art-making significantly reduced cortisol levels, a key stress hormone.
Hobbies aren’t mere pastimes — they’re lifelines. Physical pursuits like hiking or dancing improve lung capacity, reduce inflammation, and lift mood. Creative hobbies like painting or woodworking enhance focus, dexterity, and emotional well-being. Above all, they give us purpose — a reason to look forward to each day.
Professionally, hobbies connect us with like-minded people, often easing loneliness and sometimes even leading to career opportunities. They make us more interesting, more balanced, and better equipped to handle stress.
So, how can you find time for hobbies in an already packed life?
- Start small. You don’t need to commit daily — even a few hours a week can make a difference.
- Take mindful breaks. Replace mindless scrolling or TV time with something creative or active.
- Explore. Try something new every few months — a class, a sport, or a craft — and see what resonates.
As the modern workweek continues to shrink and more people work remotely, the need for meaningful engagement outside of work will only grow. Schools, governments, parents, and grandparents can all help by modeling balanced living and ensuring that hobby programs remain affordable and accessible. A society that values both productivity and personal fulfillment is a happier, healthier one. And it begins by teaching children ,not just how to make a living, but how to make a life.
References
Venkat, S.R.(2025) Health Benefits of Hobbies. WebMD.Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/balance/health-benefits-of-hobbies
Wogan, H. (2024) Why having a hobby is good for your brain and body. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/hobby-health-benefits-exercise-art-outdoors
Mak, H. and associates (2023). Hobby engagement and mental well-being among people aged 65 years and older in 16 countries.Nature Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02506-1
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Please start a discussion and share your hobbies below. Have you passed your passion on to the next generation?
Art is always for sale. To purchase Replanting the garden, go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/3536926/replanting-the-garden#/
To purchase Flying High, go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/3589866/flying-high#/
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Enjoy my writing. Read the Water Factor available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells Books and aat Annie Blooms Books.
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10/5/2025 12:41:03 AM
Static intermission is about finding order in chaos. It’s what many of us crave during turbulent times.
Family in a Time of Upheaval
According to the Pew Research Center, Americans today are split on the meaning of family. People are more pessimistic than optimistic about the future of families, and fewer see marriage or parenthood as essential to a fulfilling life. What most people do agree on is that “family” now comes in many forms—single parents, blended households, child-free couples, multiracial families, and same-sex partnerships.
That flexibility is healthy. I can’t help but think that part of the disarray in our society stems from something basic: how well we parent and how well we show up for one another in the most basic ways.
Family is no longer just about blood. It’s about the bonds we choose to nurture. And those bonds aren’t built through titles, careers, political loyalties, or even shared hobbies. They grow through small, everyday actions, such as eating together, celebrating victories, and offering a safe place to land when the world feels brutal. That’s where trust takes root.
I grew up in what I now view as a storybook childhood after World War II. My extended family shielded me from hardship. I lived in a neighborhood that believed in the Constitution, the rule of law, and basked in the moral victory of defeating dictators like Hitler and Mussolini. What I didn’t see and what my community didn’t want to see was that not everyone shared in that safety or equality. Women, minorities, and the poor were often left out of the American dream I took for granted. I never imagined that one day, our own democracy could feel fragile, or that authoritarian voices might rise inside our own borders.
That illusion cracked when I worked at a community mental health hospital. Suddenly, I was face-to-face with pain: teens with unwanted pregnancies, veterans with PTSD, people broken by abuse or random violence. The fairy tale was gone. Life wasn’t fields of flowers and cotton-candy skies. Instead, it was complicated, messy, and often cruel.
But even in the darkest places, I saw something powerful: people who had grown up with love and trust had more resilience. They weren’t immune to tragedy, but they could still see beauty, still find meaning in life, still push through its evil. Family bonds that were strong became lifelines.
So what does a healthy family look like? It’s not about perfection, or having money, or getting every rule right. It’s about raising kids who, by adulthood, can stand on their own,. They are adults who:
- Model empathy, self-control, and healthy boundaries.
- Respect each child as an individual with a voice worth hearing.
- Set fair, consistent expectations that grow with the child.
- Provide safety, not fear. Forgiveness, not grudges.
- Make mistakes—but own them, and keep love unconditional.
Parenting doesn’t end when kids turn eighteen. In many ways, that’s when the hardest work begins. We want to raise independent adults, but we also want to stay connected. That balance, respecting boundaries while maintaining closeness, is where many families stumble.
It’s especially challenging now. Many adult children live states away, pulled by jobs or partners. Technology can help, but Zoom calls and texts aren’t the same as being in the same kitchen. And the political divide has strained even the strongest bonds. Too many family gatherings end with people walking on eggshells or not showing up at all.
But a healthy adult relationship between parent and child is possible. It grows out of the same principles that shape childhood: respect, listening, forgiveness, and unconditional love. That means:
- Respecting privacy and decisions, even when they differ from your own.
- Being financially independent.
- Enjoying each other’s company without turning every visit into a political debate.
- Allowing the relationship to shift from one of authority to one of partnership.
The goal isn’t to preserve childhood forever. It’s to create a bond that can survive distance, disagreement, and change. Because in a world where so much is pulling us apart, family can either fracture or become the thread that holds us together. That’s why family still matters in this political moment. Authoritarian movements thrive when people feel isolated, powerless, or unloved. Strong families, whether by blood or by choice, are our first defense against fear and manipulation. If we can learn to practice empathy, forgiveness, and resilience at home, we’ll be better prepared to face a divided world with strength and hope.
We can’t predict what the next decade will bring: economic shocks, climate disasters, and political upheavals. What we can do is raise the next generation with the resilience to face it. That resilience doesn’t come from TikTok or political slogans. It comes from family.”____________________________________________________________________________
I look forward to your comments .Did your family raise you to be an independent thinker, a person able to meet difficult challenges and remain resilient? Comment on my blog site.
Static intermission is a 20” by 15” acrylic painting on deep canvas. To purchase. go to https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/5679353/static-intermission#/
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References;
Parker, K. & Minkin,R. (2023) Public Has Mixed Views not he Modern American Family. Pew Research Center. retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/09/14/public-has-mixed-views-on-the-modern-american-family/
Schrader, J. (2023 )6 Characteristics of Healthy Families.Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/invisible-bruises/202304/6-characteristics-of-a-healthy-family
Sibder, ( 2019)Parenting Adult Children: Five Signs of Healthy Relationships. Sonder Wellness. Retrieved from https://www.sonderwellness.com/blog/2019/04/adult-children/
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Hokama, the hero of The Water Factor, grew up with empathetic parents who valued community over personal wealth. His physician mother assists low-income and indigenous families, and his father, an attorney, provides free services to a Native American Reservation. Their views helped shape the activist Hokama became, and gave him the courage to fight an egregious corporate crime.
A Firebird International Award winner for Best Dystopian Novel and a Literary Titan recipient for Best Thriller, available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. Available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell's Books, and Annie Bloom's Books, and on audiobook platforms such as Amazon, Audible, and iTunes.
