For those of us who have full-time jobs, we spend 40 or more hours per week around co-workers. That doesn't include the amount of time spent around babysitters, mailmen, cashiers, waiters, bus drivers, and anyone else we come into contact with on a weekly basis. While some of the individuals we interact with are certainly friendly, good people, there are others who flat-out drive us up the wall. As I've mentioned previously on the blog, I'm an introvert. No, that doesn't mean I'm shy. It means that I become drained when around people for too long. I need ample time alone in order to recharge. That's why I often eat lunch by myself and make it a priority to "disconnect" from co-workers by taking a couple of short breaks each day. I can only take so much chit chat on a daily basis. Oftentimes, I come home drained and crave nothing more than to unwind in my room -- in complete silence. Am I a complete recluse or misanthrope? Absolutely not. I unders...

Most of us seem to engage in linear thinking when mulling over how we think our lives will play out. We presume we'll work until our mid to late 60s, retire, and then live another 20 to 30 years. In the meantime, we try to "live life to the fullest" by staying as busy as we possibly can -- doing everything from traveling to having more kids to working multiple jobs. The fact is, none of us really know how long we'll be on this earth. We'd all like to think we'll live to be 90 or 100, but none of us can see into the future to know for sure. Without getting too morbid here, I'd like to go straight to my central point in this post: Is a good life necessarily one where you're so busy that you can't even stop to enjoy the music? How many people do you know who still stay home on the weekends just watching movies or reading books? Do you know anyone who actually does his or her best to slow it down as opposed to getting caught up doing a million...