Here is the guidance I give my clients when they complain of confusion and disorganization in their lives.

Watch some children out for a walk and you’ll see a lot of meandering to and fro as they make fascinating discoveries on all sides. So why do adults seem to prefer to walk in straight lines instead? What do our kids know that we’ve forgotten?

In my work as a therapist, I find that lying — to oneself and to loved ones — is a major obstacle to change. For many, the advice “just tell the truth” misses the myriad causes of lying and the skill set necessary to tell the truth even when the stakes are high.

I started writing a few months ago about our five senses, and I’m ending with the sense of sight; it may be last but it’s very far from least. In fact, the sense of sight is so powerful and all-encompassing that it can actually detract from the subtle messages of our other senses. It permeates our language and has a particular hold on our imagination.

In therapy, we talk a lot about the importance of ‘meeting the client where they are’; in other words, seeing them for who they are and what they’re dealing with at that time, rather than who or where we think they ‘should’ be. Little did I know I’d be using the same lesson in my relationship with the newest member of the family.

Remember those cartoons where a character is exhorted towards good by an angel on one shoulder while a tiny devil on the other shoulder tempts him or her towards evil? It turns out there are real motivational analogues to shoulder-angels and shoulder-devils, and knowing the difference between the two is not always so easy.

The scientific picture is still pretty murky with respect to whether and how much coffee is really good for you, but simply nothing that can help rectify a discombobulated mood like a fresh cup of Java.