Last night, I went to bed hungry. It was by choice, not by necessity. There were moments while lying in the darkened room that I thought about getting up, going into the kitchen, opening a pantry or refrigerator door, and choosing something to eat. But I didn’t. Instead, I thought about the 800 million people on our […]
Tag Archives: Living Your Best Life
Tears—big, fat tears, the kind that makes some men uncomfortable, and many women sigh—rolled down his cheeks. He laid on a hospital bed, his life nearing the end, spending precious moments with the daughter who sat next to him—this daughter who wasn’t his and was always his. He was only in his sixties. He talked about his beloved wife. […]
When “the grass seems greener on the other side,” you look over the “fence”—literally or proverbially—and see your neighbor’s “lawn” as healthier than yours. But, just like us worn-down mortals with eroded and less-than-perfect parts of us, you’re often not close enough to recognize the crabgrass, brown patches, or bare places. As humans, we often have a bias […]
Gratitude is an “Amen, Thank You!” to our world. When we only see what we don’t have, we close the door to the joy that comes from acknowledging what we do have. Many people wish they could walk in someone else’s shoes. Sometimes, that’s jealousy-based, but more often, it’s the result of wanting lives more like what they presume (the […]
I love this story from my grandson’s first year of grade school: Ethan had an excellent teacher, and at the beginning of the school year, she asked if any of the children spoke a second language. A few children raised their hands. When she got to Ethan, he said, “I speak Duck➀.” She heard that […]
It’s 6:23 in the morning as the light comes in from the East. The pines, river birches and oaks reach out to a blue sky, dappled with diaphanous clouds. A rabbit hops through the grass as a chipmunk scurries across the deck. The tomatoes are turning red in the garden. A butterfly dances past my head. A gentle […]
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. […]
When I was young, there was a game called “Red Light, Green Light”. One child was the “traffic light”, and stood facing away from the other players. The rest of the kids lined up about 6 feet away from the “light”. In the game, the child who’s “it” yells “green light!” and everyone runs toward […]
This post has been on my mind for a long time. It’s been on my heart for even longer. My sincere prayer and hope is for Peace Full Home to be uplifting and hopeful in a world that has its fair share of challenges. I want this blog to be a harbinger of calm and […]
The pear tree that I planted over a decade ago is heavy with fruit right now. I didn’t make the time to “thin it out” as I should have and, when I looked out the window this morning, I noticed the tree loaded down, its branches straining under the weight of hundreds of pears. A […]
After another night of bad dreams, I woke up tired and disoriented, trying to shake off the dark, pulling myself together, and literally curling into a fetal position. I don’t understand the crazy that goes on in my mind. Sleep should be regenerating, not a fear-filled marathon. I’m amazed to hear friends say, “I lie […]
Last week I was pruning the hollies on one side of the yard. We planted them in the fall of 2013 as evergreen, privacy trees between our property and one that is owned by a utility company. There’s always been a “much less-than-attractive” building on the acre next to ours, but a few years ago a BIG […]
Last fall my daughter, Erin, and I were in Italy on vacation. Neither of us speaks Italian and it was an ambitious trip to say the least. Sure, we had the perfunctory Italian/English dictionary, but in our (sometimes North American) arrogance, we assumed that a lot of folks would speak OUR language. Hmmm…that’s a problem, […]
The irises next to the deck are coming up. They were my Mom’s. She dug them up for me the year before she died. They’re beautiful shades of purple and I planted them right next to my hot tub. About a dozen years ago, I bought the hot tub when I was renovating the house […]
Our dear friends Betsy and Sam recently moved to a beautiful area in Georgia. Larry and I just got back from visiting them for a few days. On the way to the airport, to fly home on Saturday evening, we hit a major traffic jam. By the time we got to the Atlanta airport we […]
This morning I woke up long before the sun was rising. That’s not unusual since I don’t sleep well. I lay in bed thinking about the day to come, then decide to get up. I walk into the bathroom, close the door and flip the light switch. NOTHING HAPPENED. My first thought was that, “while we were working on […]
peace full home®—intentional living 