Dear Eric: We met a nice couple who was seated at the table with us on a cruise last summer. We had a few things in common and pleasant conversations. They shared a travel schedule and plans to be on ...

Is that the pursuit of happiness or the flight from pain? Is that building fortitude or indulging fragility? The degree to which we choose one or the other will shape our national destiny.

and equanimity to help manage their happiness and mental health. Self-compassion can prevent harmful self-talk and self-blame, and mindfulness can relieve people from stressful thoughts of pain ...

But that doesn't tell anything like the entire story of where they come from - a place equal parts hype, hope, happiness and hurt. To know this deep in your South African bones you only had to see ...