If you had limitless resources and time, what would you pursue? What is your dream? Maybe your dream is moving somewhere warmer, quitting the job you hate and doing something fulfilling, traveling to beautiful places or finding the right person to share life with. Perhaps it’s hearing someone say, “What can I do for you; […]
Category Archives: Inspiration
“What Is Love?” a t-shirt that proclaims, “super grandpa”, that’s love a note that shares the belief in another’s value, that’s love a perfect apple, left on the kitchen counter on a teacher’s first day of class, that can be love a blanket made for a little girl (and one for her tiny doll), that’s […]
It’s often easy to get so caught up in our realities that we don’t stop to look at the world through another’s eyes. And, when we don’t take the time to see outside our own little universe, our narrow perspective can lead to behavior that can be anything from inconsiderate to downright mean. Yesterday, I offered up […]
I truly believe that “nice” is underrated. I also believe we could use a little more civility, care, and concern, so I’m offering “The Kindness Challenge” hoping that we can, individually and collectively, create a kinder, gentler world” by seeing day-to-day life differently. We’ll look at the first 25 today and finish with the next 25 […]
COMPLETE Experiences that shaped who you are get blurred with the passing of time as memories become woven into a tapestry stitched together by the moments of your yesterdays. More and more is written into the tome of your life: the magnificent and the mundane the extraordinary and the excruciating; reality and dreams merge—both parts […]
A young woman asked me, “If God created the universe, then who created God?” I shared the “God has no beginning. God created time. God created the universe. God has always been,” philosophy that I understand as truth. “But that doesn’t make sense and you haven’t answered the question,” was her response. So, I tried again: “God’s existence has […]
“TREES” the trees call to me they know me by name they weep spilling their leaves and pods over the earth their hearts are heavy with the knowledge that destruction surrounds their planet i whisper, “i don’t know what to do; i don’t know how to stop it” the trees call to me they know […]
Awareness greets me each morning. She asks, “what will you do with today?” Almost always, I answer boldly, listing what I’d like to accomplish; knowing how I desire to make a difference in the next 24 hours. But, every once in a while, I whisper, “I have no idea”. My tank is already close to empty […]
There are times when our peace-full living is disrupted. It can happen suddenly, almost like a switch being flipped, turning off the power of love, the power of faith, the power of hope. It can happen slowly and insidiously, leaving us stumbling around in the dark, often not knowing how, why or even when our […]
Yesterday marked the first day of a new school year in my area; hopefully a fresh start and an opportunity for new beginnings. Sometimes this new start is celebratory and exciting. Ideally, students are coming in with a “blank slate”, ready to seize the opportunities in front of them. Hopefully, the experience is positive. Maybe the students […]
We are spirit energy, stuck in (mostly) clunky bodies, with three-pound brains directing much (often most) of our living. We forget all the time that we mere mortals are much more alike than we are different. THE COFFEE SHOP The lights in the coffee shop are still on. The traveler drags his bag […]
ONCE UPON A TIME when i was young, i ran through soft, green grass unafraid of mud squishing between my toes, unafraid of worms or bugs or other creatures. i heard all the morning birdsong, i saw bunnies scamper looking for food. i waited for the deer to stop by in the dark, and partake […]
I was pulling weeds, outside my front porch, on a beautiful summer night before the dark swept away the light. I had a purpose—remove the weeds in order to allow the plants I want there to have a chance to grow. Larry (my husband) sat with me, weeding too. He (a significantly more structured person than me) is pretty methodical. […]
Phenomenon—a fact or circumstance that’s observed, but sometimes difficult to explain or even understand. It’s about consciousness and what we experience and how that affects us. What we “feel” exists because we’re experiencing it. Psychological Phenomena refers to mental processes, like: • The Placebo Effect—if a patient believes that he’s taking something that’s supposed to heal him (even […]
Have you ever felt overwhelmed, defeated or exhausted because, in spite of how hard you love, work or “put yourself out there” it doesn’t seem to be enough? Have you ever stood at the door of hopelessness, believing that if you take one more step you could “walk off the edge?” I’ve felt that way. […]
If you’ve been around children, you’ve likely heard “no fair!” shouted in anger or frustration or whispered with tears running down the child’s face. “No fair” is only six letters, but when uttered in pain reads more like, “why me?” or “why not me?” “why am I the one who’s left out?” “why didn’t I get that chance […]
Sometimes, God speaks to us in the bright light of day. Sometimes, God whispers in the still night—when we’re alone or scared or unable to take one more step forward. Sometimes, it’s really tough to hear God’s voice above the clanging gongs. And, sometimes, we have to invite God into our silence. Silence Is Golden […]
A woman, standing in a checkout line on the Friday after Thanksgiving, is mumbling about how “ridiculous these lines are”. By the time she gets to the register, she’s yelling at the (likely) minimum wage person moving as quickly as he can. The young man stops (just for a moment) and tries to regroup. He […]
The sun has just set and it’s that “ in between” time—not bright and not completely dark. I sit on a rocking chair, alone on the front porch. As I listen to the wind come up the mountain, I begin to study the different trees and shrubs around me. They each remind me of people […]
A while ago, I was at a seminar with a group of women I didn’t know. One of them immigrated to The United States several years earlier. She said that her “English isn’t good enough“, and that she feels “defeated and less than”. She wasn’t finding other women who wanted to build a relationship with […]
Many years ago I had the wonderful privilege of being with people who are—on the surface only of course—different from me. I was in La Entrada, Honduras on a mission trip with others from my faith community. It was a time that was rich with emotion and learning. In spite of speaking mostly through an […]
Feeling Alone Last week my daughter Erin—a clinical trials & research nurse—sent me a very dismal report about loneliness. Then, I stumbled upon a piece on the same subject while researching something else. And, in the past few weeks, I’ve talked to at least four people about loneliness. When there’s a recurring theme, it’s a […]
Whenever I wasn’t with clients yesterday, I was outside pressure washing our deck. This is an annual ritual—one that’s made even more necessary because of my beloved locust tree (“The Tree”). The Tree is very messy. Each spring, seedpods fall creating a lot of residual muck to get rid of. But, in spite of the […]
In early 2016, I wrote a letter to my then ten-year-old granddaughter with ten specific thoughts. It was a spur-of-the-moment sharing, hand-written on simple lined “school” paper with holes in the margin, around which I drew little flowers. She asked me to hang onto it for her and I took it out, and reread it, […]
Good Morning Beautiful Friend. How are you my Precious Daughter? You are so Creative! You’re a Worthless Loser. You are such a Clumsy Jerk! How can you be so Stupid and Ugly? You did a Wonderful job! How can you always be so Generous? You’re a Valuable team member. You were an unwanted Mistake. Why are you so Useless? Get lost you Freak! Your […]
peace full home®—intentional living 