Life’s fragility—much too fleeting or painstakingly stagnant, joyfully overflowing or devastatingly lonely—plays out in this space between human life and death. Sometimes, lines have been rehearsed for decades; often, we’re caught off guard, blindsided by the swiftness of change that was never expected or invited. We can be like shooting stars—tiny specs of dust glowing […]
Tag Archives: living intentionally
I was asked by a friend, doing research, some “life queries.” Her questions and my responses follow. Question: What keeps me up at night? Answers: • Nightmares (literally); had one again last night despite being completely violence averse. • Trying to figure out what I’m called to do with the rest of this life. […]
It’s 5:20 on a Tuesday morning. I tossed and turned for a while before recognizing that I wasn’t going to quiet my brain—that’s decided to run a marathon—so I got up. The air outside is still, almost too still. I sit at my desk with my tea and type away as if the world’s on […]
There are more than 6,000 spoken languages on our planet! And, it’s estimated that there are over 300 languages used for communication in The United States of America alone! But today, I want to talk about we communicate with each other, not the astonishing number of dialects used. Sometimes, we forget how to calmly express […]
I’ve gotten feedback and questions on last week’s “Home” series, specifically about all the things we own, so today, let’s look at possessions. When did we wrap our arms around a culture that defines us, sometimes almost entirely, by what we own?Does stuff really buy happiness? There’s psychological support that, for many, there is immediate gratification when acquiring something. But, […]
Home should be your safe place, your respite from the world where you can slow down, breathe and simply BE. Of course, different factors influence your ability to experience peace—who you live with, your physical location, the folks in your neighborhood, the house itself. So, Today, let’s talk about your physical environment and a dozen changes […]
Weeding is an ongoing task during spring, beginning with the area next to our neighbor’s home. Then, the front beds, vegetable garden, and underneath the blossoming pear tree where the shrubs I planted almost two decades ago (thinking, “they’re so pretty and just the right color”) have become much too large. Sometimes, I don’t research the “will […]
There’s a Native American legend about two wolves. As the story goes, we have two wolves inside our hearts: a wolf of love and a wolf of hate. The wolf of hate is filled with anger, sorrow, ego, fear, pride, envy, arrogance, greed, and superiority. The heart of the wolf of love overflows with hope, humility, […]
Insight is critical. It’s the ability to understand humans and situations—deeply and intuitively—seeing through the lens of discernment and awareness, opening not only our minds but also our larger world consciousness. When we view life—both the minutiae and the giant, loud “can’t miss” thing—and then harness our awareness to see inward, our sensitivities are altered. […]
March coming “in like a lion and going out like a lamb“ ❶ is an unambiguous proverb. The weather’s unpredictability is typical; it can be 10˚and snowing one day and 50˚ three days later. We vacillate between standing in the sun’s warmth and shoveling snow! These two animals seem very different: ferocious vs. gentle, intimidating vs. docile. But, Jesus […]
This morning I voted. I stood in line for just about two hours, winding up and down outdoor lines marked six feet apart. I wore my mask, of course, and boots and gloves and a hat under my hood, but the cold wind still seeped into my veins. But that didn’t matter. The crisp air […]
Two weeks ago, a large, heavy ceramic pot broke into a dozen pieces. I decided to glue it back together. It was time-consuming, requiring a lot of patience—which I sometimes don’t have—as I clamped individual pieces together, waiting for them to dry before adding the next part of the puzzle. Eventually, (with almost an entire […]
The waves crash onto the shore as I walk on the deserted beach not long after the sun has decided to grace us, once again, with her morning majesty. Litter—empty plastic cups, a beat-up cooler, two broken chairs, a few beer bottles—carelessly left behind by fellow humans, stands out hideously in the otherwise perfection of […]
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 […]
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 […]
I was woken from a deep sleep, in the very early morning, by thunder and lightning. I turned toward the window and watched and listened to the sound of nature. Lying there in the dark, I was fully aware of the gifts of sight and sound. Recently, I saw two video clips. The first was […]
Do you dream? I’m not asking about the images and thoughts that occur while you’re asleep—although that subject is fascinating. Do you dream during your waking hours; imagine possibilities that are different from your current reality; think about places you’d like to see; entertain “what ifs”? Or, have you given up on dreaming; instead choosing […]
I sat next to an elderly gentleman, named George, in a surgical waiting room this morning. His first comment to me was that the sun outside was a welcome change from the rainy weeks we’ve been experiencing. I agreed and we talked for a few minutes. Then, about a half hour later, a volunteer came over […]
In the 1830s, American inventor and painter, Samuel Morse, began perfecting an electric telegraph. In 1844 he transmitted the short biblical phrase, “what hath God wrought”, by wire from Washington, DC to Baltimore, Maryland. SOS is a Morse code international distress signal, and the only nine element symbol—making it easily recognizable. It’s also an ambigram, which means […]
I woke up this morning to the sound of birds chirping outside my bedroom window—how wonderful. Spring is my favorite season of the year because, in my area of our country, everything that’s been dormant is springing back to life. Even in years where I have experienced “winters of discontent”—as Shakespeare’s Richard III said—spring has given […]
Yesterday, I started the conversation about getting to the end of our lives with no regrets. How are we experiencing the time we do have? Many of us run through life. We don’t use our time to do what, at the end of our lives, we’ll probably consider “important”—to make the things that truly matter the priority. We can’t turn back […]
My hope is to get to the end of this life without regrets. That may not be completely possible, but I want to live in a way that makes it a bit more attainable. I’ve failed at this often, and I’ll slip up again, but it sure doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. Imagine if you were told that you had only one […]
When I teach classes on organization, I start with a dozen goals. Next, we discuss the reasons we get to a place where we’re overwhelmed with “stuff”. If we don’t know why we’re in a situation, it’s tough to change our behavior, and we’re likely to end up back where we started. Once people have an “aha” moment in class it’s […]
According to Universe Today, “the modern form of humans evolved about 200,000 years ago”. Homo sapiens have been walking this planet for a very long time, and our “turn around the dance floor” is a minuscule blip on the wheel of life. We forget that we’re simply passing through (or passing back to the spirit side if your […]
A lot of us spend a considerable amount of time trying to create “perfect”. The problem is that we are NOT perfect beings. If our expectations are so high that we can’t accept anything except perfection from ourselves or those around us, we need to figure out how to see things from a different perspective. […]
peace full home®—intentional living 