Recollections of decades ago that seem like the distant past, and just yesterday, often dance in my awareness. I hear my inner voice harkening back to what seemed like glory days but, in reality (and retrospect), were often fraught with racism and sexism. I remember the penny candy store, where we could buy red juju […]
Tag Archives: time
Today is my grandson Ethan’s sixteenth birthday. It seems like it was just yesterday when he was born. I remember holding him in the NICU, praying for Sara, my daughter, and Ethan to be healthy (Thank You, God, they were.) Years have flown by. Ethan plays basketball and soccer, has wonderful friends, is intelligent, creative, witty, and […]
Sometimes, I feel like I’m in perpetual “Groundhog Day” (like the 1993 movie Bill Murray starred in). Each set of twenty-four hours seems like a repetition of the one before—learned patterns, a sense of life impotence, the same mundanity or routine. Yet, lying in bed this morning at 6:00, awoken by a jarring alarm, I […]
Time is an incredibly fleeting reality, yet my brain is often on overdrive despite my consciousness of the unhealthiness of that! Thinking about how months, years, and decades fly by, I’ve been contemplating an awareness held for a long time: abundance. All we need to do is turn on the news to see the scarcity that is […]
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 […]
After another night of bad dreams, I woke up tired and disoriented, trying to shake off the dark, pulling myself together, 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 down at […]
“Tomorrow comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and puts itself in our hands. It hopes we learned something from yesterday.” Marion Robert Morrison (John Wayne) “Tomorrow, I’ll take better care of myself.” “Tomorrow, I’ll make smarter choices.” “Tomorrow, I’ll get enough sleep.” “Tomorrow, I’ll pursue healthier relationships.” “Tomorrow, I’ll work […]
Recently, I came across one of my granddaughter’s old books, titled “Inside Out.” It reminded me that we employ different inside and outside voices (and faces) depending on where we are or who we’re with. Often, we’re completely immersed in our material realities, not observing ourselves from the inside out. Sometimes we don’t even acknowledge the parts […]
There is joy, and there is woe (bliss and suffering can dance on the same stage), and we humans react to those opposites in many different ways. Of course, happiness is subjective, but when we choose it, we are actively creating inner peace, moving forward into authenticity and self-worth awareness. (Even a magic wand won’t automatically make […]
As a verb, the word “commune” (/kəˈmjun/) means: contemplating, reflecting on, or experiencing with others, sometimes without using words. As a noun, the term “commune” (/ˈkämyo͞on/) is a collective—a group that bonds together, creating—figuratively or literally—a “village,” supported by a common ground. You’re aware, of course—unless you’ve been in a sequestered holding pattern your entire life— […]
I’ve often said, “I forgot to remember.” Years ago, remembering wasn’t a problem, but with damage to one minuscule nerve, simultaneously being able to process all the things I want isn’t as easy as it used to be. So, instead of saying, “I forgot,” I say, “I forgot to remember.” It’s kinder and gentler. There […]
In 2020, I wrote a post with twenty practices that honor the beauty and worth we all have. Now, in 2022, with COVID-19 still wreaking havoc on our hurting planet and news filled with loneliness, violence, and sorrow, it seems fitting to offer more ideas to see everyday life through a brighter lens (but not […]
I: Who, What, When Where, Why Like, I’m sure at least some of you, there are times I forget to see the life-signposts with flashing lights screaming: “Who are you hurting (hopefully unwittingly) with a lack of awareness?” “What, small but valuable something, are you missing running through life? “When do you choose to look away rather […]
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. […]
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. […]
I often wonder what I’m “supposed” to be doing in this life. I think a lot, not necessarily a good thing, mind you. Overthinking makes it hard to be successful at meditating and sleeping, and the downside of over-analyzation. In the journey of attempting to “slow my brain down,” I’ve realized that we can over-think things so much that […]
I’m acutely aware of how years seem to slip through my fingers like grains of sand. Do you ever feel that way? The fragility of life, and how I spend my precious hours, is never far from my awareness. Today, in a contemplative frame of mind, I’d like to share a piece of poetry. __________ The Library ceiling […]
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 […]
When my granddaughter, Lauren, was ten, she read a story to me about a family with three young children that survived the devastating Joplin, Missouri tornado of 2011. I’m sure that life has never been quite the same for them. The recognition of “what they could have lost” probably still dances through their minds every […]
My brother, Bob, diagnosed with his first brain tumor at sixteen, died when he was forty. He beat insurmountable odds. In the last years of his life, he was wheelchair-bound, and his brain lived in the past. Incredibly, through all the surgeries and pain, he never once complained or uttered, “why me?” A life that blessed many […]
Welcome to home week! We all experience peace differently. For some of us, “peaceful” is quiet and serene, while, for others, it’s loud and fun. We’ll also react positively to different colors, items and experiences because (of course) we’re different. Some specifics relate to almost everyone, but creating your peaceful home is as unique as […]
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 […]
Last week, I woke up one morning with an appreciation of abundance because of a dream I had. However, today I awoke aware of a feeling of mourning. Like many (or most) of you, I’ve experienced significant heartbreak, having lost the earthly presence of my parents, brother, and a few dear friends. Those heartbreaking times often […]
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, […]
peace full home®—intentional living 