May 2021 - The Brick Magazine

PLEASURE AS YOUR NORTH STAR

Julie Palmer2021-05-01T01:29:44-04:00

Photo by Ava Sol on Unsplash By Maria Sylvester, MSW, CPC Ah, the experience of pure pleasure. You know the feeling; when you’re in it, it can be so divine. You drop down from awareness of your thoughts into a yummy experience in your heart and body — perhaps with a subtle, delicious buzz or tingle. You tune in there. It rounds you out and smoothes over all your rough edges. You feel more complete. More vibrantly alive. More open to the flow of life within and around you. Pleasure, my friend, in all its many forms, is the key to deepening [...]

PLEASURE AS YOUR NORTH STARJulie Palmer2021-05-01T01:29:44-04:00

PLEASURES WE TOOK FOR GRANTED

Julie Palmer2021-05-01T01:30:51-04:00

Photo on Unsplash By Marilyn Pellini It hit full force in mid-March of 2020 — COVID-19 that is. With its arrival went so many of life’s pleasures. Normally, I would greet a family member with a kiss or hug, especially if I had not seen them in a while. As the virus put a vice-like grip on the whole of mankind, close encounters evaporated. We had to stay at least six feet away from the other person and wear a mask if they did not live in our immediate household. Most people who were used to going to the office or their [...]

PLEASURES WE TOOK FOR GRANTEDJulie Palmer2021-05-01T01:30:51-04:00

THE ONE ABOUT HAPPINESS

Julie Palmer2021-05-01T01:29:51-04:00

Photo by Miranda Thiago on Unsplash By Liz Crowe Ever think about how we have so many words for booze? Giggle juice. Social lubricant. Liquid courage. And it seems that we have even more ways to describe someone being drunk — hammered, blasted, gazeboed, etc. Some vintage terms for being drunk sound funny or bizarre to us today; back in the day, one might have heard that a drunk person “has more sail than ballast” or was “all mops and brooms.” Okay, sorry. I got lost down a rabbit hole of words and phrases. There is a point to this; bear [...]

THE ONE ABOUT HAPPINESSJulie Palmer2021-05-01T01:29:51-04:00

THE JOYS OF BEING A NANA

Julie Palmer2021-05-01T08:50:56-04:00

Photo by Cadeau Maestro on Unsplash By Beth Johnston “Grandchildren fill a space in your heart you never knew was empty.” ~ Unknown On December 27th, 2019, my world changed forever. If you had asked me before that date what gave me the most joy in life, I probably would have simply said family and traveling. Little did I know that I would come to prioritize a new joy. I’m the mom of three boys who are now young men (32, 29, and 27). They’ve always been my world, and still are. All of my friends who have grandchildren told me [...]

THE JOYS OF BEING A NANAJulie Palmer2021-05-01T08:50:56-04:00

PURE-FUME VS. PERFUME

Julie Palmer2021-04-27T10:49:43-04:00

Photo by Bundo Kim on Unsplash By Lisa Profera MD Why does making your own scents make sense and save cents? I used to not understand why walking through the perfume department would make me sneeze, feel nauseated, or give me a headache. If I had to subject myself to the barrage of synthetic fragrances permeating that section of the store, I would often walk quickly and hold my breath, dodging the women with spray bottles ready to douse you in the latest trendy (and often expensive) perfume. Components of plants have been used as fragrances for thousands of years. It’s [...]

PURE-FUME VS. PERFUMEJulie Palmer2021-04-27T10:49:43-04:00

FACING A HISTORIC YEAR WITH GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER

Julie Palmer2021-04-27T10:30:41-04:00

By Marji Wisniewski I must confess that prior to 2020, the extent of my knowledge about Michigan politics was mostly limited to what I learned while chaperoning my daughter’s class trip to the Capitol. However, since the pandemic and other events of past year have unfolded, I’ve tried to learn more so I can be educated on the current issues our state and country face. On many days, I found myself glued to the livestream of Governor Gretchen Whitmer addressing our state. I noticed that a lot of the time, it wasn’t just her up at the podium. The governor often [...]

FACING A HISTORIC YEAR WITH GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMERJulie Palmer2021-04-27T10:30:41-04:00