Heart & Breath

We’re familiar with the expression “thinking outside the box”— choosing to see things from a different perspective, perhaps more creatively or unconventionally, not boxed in. There’s value in “breathing outside the box,” too, taking the time to hear your breath, slowing down, consciously inhaling and exhaling, honoring and acknowledging what’s often taken for granted.  Breathing sounds simple, but […]

The Blue Vase

Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of “things”, so what I did have mattered—including my plastic doll named Sharon. The first time she started falling apart, my Dad put her back together with electrical tape. Over the next couple of years, she required quite a bit of that black tape. Did I think that made Sharon […]

The Hope Chest

When I was in high school, a local furniture store gifted to all of the graduating senior girls a “miniature hope chest”. A hope chest is where, at least in bygone years, a young woman collected items—like household linens—that she’d use when she got married. Maybe the idea was that “hoping for” helped to create […]