During a time of upheaval, it can be tough to remain positive. Uncertainty is unnerving, but we have a responsibility to, now possibly more than ever, live into our highest selves. One way of doing that is by looking through a different lens. Since many of us are out of work, working from home or leaving […]
Tag Archives: fear
Almost every day, I talk with someone about life. Yeah, I know, that’s a really enormous topic but those conversations aren’t usually about tackling “the big picture”; just little clips of it. I realize that what I write about is often insignificant in the grand scheme of our planet (and I never want to lose sight of the […]
For those who feel despair and those who offer hope; for those who are scared and those who show love, and for those who are lost and those who guide the way, these poems are for you. FINDING HOPE worlds collide the past and the present slamming into each other— painfully, without regard for the […]
PONDERING he has a keen knowing that there is more, but there are times when he feels ill-equipped to change the tide sometimes he stays anchored to the shoreline; afraid to wade out a little deeper, but sometimes he takes a chance and jumps into the ocean and, so, his evolution continues…. sometimes baby-stepping all […]
• Do you ever feel like you’re firmly on solid ground— life is completely stable; everything’s under control; you’re easily putting one foot in front of the other? • Do you ever feel like you’re walking on an uneven path—sometimes you’re on stable ground, but other times you could make just one tiny misstep and fall? • […]
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 […]
I woke up, brushed my teeth, threw on a t-shirt and pair of yoga pants and headed out for a walk with Vero, my little rescue dog. It was 6:50 on an absolutely perfect Sunday morning. Vero scampered as we trekked up the hill (yep, he actually scampers); him stopping often to smell something, me […]
CANDLELIGHT I light the candles as dusk envelopes the space. I don’t like the dark. I see things in the shadows that I don’t see in the light. I hear things that are silenced in the day. I’m afraid of the dark. Fear can freeze us in place; it can bring us to our knees […]
When I think of courage, the first thing that comes to mind is bravery—military personnel in war zones protecting our freedom; firefighters running into burning buildings carrying out those who are trapped; donors giving a kidney or bone marrow to someone they’ve never met; teenagers standing up to bullies who, once again, are going to terrorize […]
I’ve mentioned vestibular neuritis before, but what’s interesting is that as I live with this condition, that isn’t life-threatening but is lifestyle-threatening, I think about how blessed I am to have this as my most serious physical disadvantage. Vestibular Neuritis Information about motion, equilibrium, and spatial orientation is provided by the vestibular system which detects gravity […]
This isn’t a “happy” story about lasagna, green sweaters or cloth napkins. It’s a story about humanness and brokenness. I’m not talking about broken hearts but, rather, broken spirits— when you know you have worth, but can’t count it, when it feels like life has been sucked out of you, when you’ve lost, given up, or […]
Each day as I get out of bed I say, “Thank You God”. In my more aware moments, I tack on some of the other easy “thank yous”: a new day, my health, my family, etcetera. Those aren’t insincere—it’s just that they’re so darned easy to name. Sitting in my quiet (in spite of the rambunctious […]
My dreams get mixed-up with what’s real……wait, maybe it’s the other way around; maybe my real life gets mixed-up with my dreams. Is there actually a difference? What used to be curiosities now seem “normal”. What used to be “normal” now seems absurd. I wonder who really fits in anyway? Being like everyone else isn’t […]
Part I—Danger Through the course of evolution, our brains have moved away from cave-men/women mindsets of always being hyper-vigilant—thinking that there’s likely danger right around the corner waiting to destroy us. Some of us, however, never evolve past that—we’re still expecting the next “terrifying thing” to come barreling at us, so we’re unable to ever simply […]
Last Thursday evening, on my way home from my daughter’s house, a driver turned left on red and almost crashed head-on into the side of my car. I was talking to my other daughter and her fiancé (through my car’s speaker of course) when I saw that a car was barreling straight toward me. I […]
“TWO SIDES” words that give life words that kill one thought, turned to action, that makes someone’s day better one thought, turned to action, that causes someone pain fragile moments where futures are built fragile moments where fates are decided hearts bleeding profusely, spilling over the joy of others hearts hardened, unable to move at […]
Erik Erikson coined the term “identity crisis”, saying that the environment in which a child is brought up is critical in the formation of personal identity and self-awareness. Makes sense, right? Obviously, the way we were raised significantly impacted who we are now. Imagine how different you might be if all the “moving parts” of […]
What beliefs, which you hold in your core, seek expression? Are you willing to give voice to them? It’s okay if that voice starts as a barely audible whisper….really it is. When you make a decision to connect with yourself on a soul level, you are making this BIG statement: “I do matter— even if […]
On September 9th, 2001, the cruise ship pulled out of the harbor, while passengers looked back and took photographs as the vessel left the port. The day was crisp and beautiful as the New York shoreline, and the majesty of The World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, disappeared from view. A man stood next to one of […]
When I was a child, my parents owned a black and white television. The three channels were ABC, CBS and NBC. By the time I was ten years old, we could watch shows like: My Three Sons, The Beverly Hillbillies, I Dream of Jeannie, The Mod Squad (I thought they were so cool) and, one of […]
A few weeks ago, I used this word to define how I was feeling: weary. I have never (at least as far as I can remember) ever used that word to describe myself before. Weary feels sad to me. It feels defeated. It feels worn out. After a couple of weeks of significant prayer and […]
Part 1 I woke up this, first day of spring, morning from a bad dream. Thankfully it wasn’t a full-blown nightmare—I have those too. This dream was about being in a terrible accident and waking up paralyzed; my mobility forever at the mercy of a wheelchair; my way of life abruptly halted. In the dream, I was frantic, […]
In the quest for peace full living, we have to embrace all of life—not just the parts that are amazing or delightful or make us happy. For some of us that awareness can be a tough pill to swallow. For a long time I believed that if I just shoved the bad away—then buried it […]
Many people—who have never spent a day behind bars—live in self-imposed prisons where they intend to serve out life sentences. Sometimes that’s because they’ve committed a heinous crime and, although not “found out”, they know what they’ve done and choose lifetime penitence. Some have been imprisoned by the words of others, when they’ve been told that […]
peace full home®—intentional living 