This post originally ran on March 18, 2018 Buddha once said that everyone would experience 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows in their lifetime. I came across that quote the other day, and the number jolted me. It sounded so high! I mean, it’s not hard to imagine 10,000 joys if you think of a joy...
A frequent reader of this blog wrote to me in response to my post titled, “Does Art Need a Purpose?” “Just as beauty is its own excuse for being,” she said, “so is art.” I found the full quote about beauty online. It’s from a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson called “The Rhodora.” It reads:...
I recently donated a Little Free Library to a local mobile home park. I stopped by the library, which is located near the playground, the other evening and chatted with some of the kids who were playing there. Some of them had seen and even used the library, the others hadn’t noticed it at all....
Since I write every week about how much I love and honor art in all its forms, you might be surprised that I don’t consume as much of certain types as you might think. Many of my friends admit to keeping the radio or TV on most of the day when they are at home...
Last week, I wrote about how art saves us. A reader e-mailed to share how listening to music every day kept her company during the isolation of COVID. She’s older and has health issues, so has spent much more time alone these past couple of years than she probably would have otherwise. I asked myself...
So often I’ve said, “All I want is for my kids to be happy.” What mother wouldn’t? We humans ask each other all the time, “Are you happy?” The assumption is if you answer no, you’re doing something wrong. You need to get back on the happiness track. For almost 55 years now, I’ve believed...
I had a weird thought this week . . . with all the talk about “finding your true self” and all the books and methods that teach you how to do that, what if finding your true self is as simple as setting aside a few days to be totally alone and see who you...
When my kids were little, I taught them to say the words “Stop, please” if anyone in the family was doing something that bothered or upset them. I made it clear they had to say the exact words in the exact order. They couldn’t just yell, “Stop it.” Because the words themselves were the cue...
This post originally ran April 27, 2019 When people ask what my blog is about, I often say it’s an inspirational blog to help people tap into and support their inner artist. “Oh, that’s not for me,” some reply. “I’m not creative. And I’m certainly not an artist.” I’m always a little surprised by that...
My husband laughed last night when I said, “It’s so much work just being alive.” I was describing my day, in which I’d awakened with a list in my head of all the things I was going to get done, and by the end of the day, only half of them were completed. In the...