The other night I had a dream I was working on something creative, and a small group of people gathered around me. They kept saying things like, “Can you explain what you’re doing?” and “Are you getting paid for that?” and “What do you really do for work?” I told them that, while it wasn’t...
As you may know, I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions. Why wait until January 1 to start improving yourself or your life? I’m really good at maintaining healthy new habits, when I feel motivated to do so. But my motivation can strike at any time. Plus, too many New Year’s resolutions are either...
I’ve talked a lot about intention in this blog over the years, mostly trying to figure out how exactly it works. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the only time in my life when I felt like intention was really clear. It was back in college, when I’d meet my friends at the bar on a...
I’ve been meeting lately with holistic healer and coach, Brenda Carey, partly because I’ve become interested in Ayurvedic medicine and partly because after a year and a half spent on sabbatical working to get my mental and physical health back on track, I was starting to become busy again. This time, I wanted to be...
My husband is closing out a 33-year career in corporate America. He’s not retiring, he’s moving into a new line of creative work of his choosing. Still, it feels like a huge change. He’s been at the same company his entire career and started there when we were still dating. That company has been our...
I’ve always been a rapid-fire communicator. I think fast, talk fast, and process my thoughts out loud. When I was in high school, my mother once dared me to talk for two minutes straight without a single pause. “Time me,” I said, and then I did it. 120 seconds of babbling about nothing without a...
I’m working on embracing impermanence. I’ve been reading When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron, and she reminds us that impermanence is our natural state. Babies don’t stay babies, people live and die, jobs come and go. But it’s not just reflected in the big things, it’s also the little things that happen every day....
I’ve been feeling really down about this pandemic the past few days, as the numbers swing upwards again. It was taking too much energy to feel sorry for myself, though, so I decided to create a list of good things that will come from several more months of “safer-at-home” orders. My list didn’t get very...
“There’s a long-standing belief that art brings us closer to God. What do you think of that?” my colleague asked. I wasn’t sure at first if she meant the creation of art or the art itself – as in all the beautiful paintings of the Madonna and Child or sculptures of angels, etc. When I...
We parents learn so much from our children. This week, I’m feeling inspired by my daughter who, when she was in college, created a list she called her “Small Life Goals.” Oh, she had her big life goals that had to do with career and family and lifestyle, etc., but her small life goals were...