By Troy Headrick I was lucky to have been reared by interesting and intelligent people who taught me much about life during my earliest years. My maternal grandfather, a man I called “Pawpaw” when I was just a wee thing, was a rancher, and because I spent years living with my grandparents, I acquired much... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I believe that we get from others what we give to them.  In other words, if you show others kindness, you’re apt to get kindness in return.  On the other hand, if you treat others disrespectfully, you’re likely to be disrespected quite frequently. What is one thing you believe?  I look forward... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick So, for a while now, my wife has wanted a cat.  We live in a typical suburban, middle-class neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, and almost everyone on our street has a pet.  Even though my wife grew up in Cairo, Egypt, a place where far fewer people keep domesticated animals, being around... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I am an educator, a manager, and a writer, which means I use my brain and voice a lot.  In my profession and in the virtual world, a space more and more of us increasingly reside in, a great emphasis is placed on having a message and speaking it via websites or... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick Hi, everyone.  I’ve been away for a couple of weeks.  I’ve certainly missed being here, but I needed time off to decompress and recharge. Speaking of decompressing and recharging, I wonder if people, living during earlier periods of history, felt as hurried and harried as those of us living in this twenty-first... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick The idea for this blog came to me at 4 a.m. on Valentine’s Day.  This proves that the mind can frolic while the body rests. Back when I was working at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, I was given an interesting assignment.  I was asked to team teach a philosophy course and... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I’d like to share some good news with you.  I was just awarded a “Master” certificate in Life Coaching.  I can’t tell you how much this pleases me.  There’s more than meets the eye to my certification story, though.  I’ve long been intrigued with coaching.  In fact, though I’ve only recently been... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I want to start with a confession.  Lately, I’ve been suffering from a touch of writer’s block.  So, much to my delight, while I was just sitting in front of my laptop, the following blog began to take shape in my mind.  I’m in my bedroom, “at work.”  It’s Monday, 1:03 p.m.,... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick This past Christmas, I received an Amazon gift card.  I used it to buy three books, including Anthony Bourdain’s The Tasty Bits. I’ll never forget the morning I learned that Anthony Bourdain—famed chef, travel writer, television personality, recovered junkie, and hipster guru—had committed suicide.  I was sitting on my butt, watching TV,... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick There are two kinds of slaves:  Those who don’t realize they are enslaved and those who know their status but don’t know how to free themselves.  In my previous blog, the one that described the problem of intellectual enslavement, I focused mostly on discussing political manipulation by demagogues.  In fact, this blog,... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick My father is a creative genius and one of the most thoughtful men I’ve ever known.  He’s a natural born philosopher and someone I love to talk with about all sorts of topics. In February of 2020, during one of my last face-to-face visits with him—the pandemic has robbed us of many... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick It’s that time of year again when people think about the new year and how they’d like to make changes in their lives going forward.  We often refer to these proposed life modifications as “new year’s resolutions.” The other day, while stepping out of the shower, the idea hit me—insights come as... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick It seems I’ve been a good boy this year because I’ve received more than my fair share of gifts recently.  I’m not talking about glittery objects placed under the tree or the proverbial stocking stuffed full of goodies.  I’m referring to all the wonderful things that you, dear readers, have gifted me... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick Many of you know that I’m an American who spent nearly two decades living and working abroad.  During the time I’m referring to, I resided in Poland, the UAE, Turkey, and Egypt.  I taught writing, literature, philosophy, research methods, and critical thinking at universities and colleges in those locales. I got spoiled... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick Over the Thanksgiving break, I made an important decision.  I decided, during one of those holiday periods when people gorge themselves, shoveling the food in with both hands, that I needed to lose some weight.  Six days ago, at the start of my diet, I stepped on the scale and the device... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I’ve traveled a lot but have never been to Denmark.  I see this as a shortcoming, especially since I’ve long been intrigued with that Nordic country.  I’ve embedded a Deutsche Welle video on “hygge,” a fascinating Danish concept, one that shapes Danish culture and worldview.  If you want to know more about... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I’ve been forgetful lately.  I’m talking like, I’ll be in one part of my house, decide that I need something from another room, head to that locale, and as soon as I arrive there, I can no longer recall what I wanted to get.  I know this is a near universal human... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I’m currently reading Vaclav Havel’s essay “The Power of the Powerless,” a wonderful treatise on human nature, unfreedom, power, culture, and mass psychology.  Though he writes about what he calls “post-totalitarianism,” a dictatorial system that held sway across Eastern Europe during the Soviet era, I am persuaded that some of Havel’s thinking... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I glance at the clock and note that it’s 6:26 p.m.  The date is Friday, November 6th, 2020.  I feel mentally and physically exhausted.  Earlier this week, on Tuesday—which seems like forever ago—Americans went to the polls to choose a president and many other elected officials.  Despite the passage of nearly three... Continue Reading →

By Troy Headrick I’ve been having strange dreams recently.  Something’s definitely going on in my subconscious. Plus, in most cases, I don’t usually remember dreams, but lately, they’ve been both extremely vivid and easy to recollect.  I wonder what’s up? About a week ago, I dreamed that I was standing outside my old high school... Continue Reading →