Two Days Before Christmas & The Perfect Tree

Stories about Christmas abound. Some of them are filled with the sadness of missing a loved one. Others recall times, when we were far from home or Christmas didn’t play out the way we painted it in our idyllic imaginations. Mostly, however, the stories we share are the happiest ones. This is one of those […]

Three Days Before Christmas & Another Lesson Learned

This morning, I woke up again with a mental Christmas “still to-do list” that rivals most of those I make. I backed out of the garage and headed down the cul-de-sac, turning left onto St. Peter’s Road. As I round the corner, I again see “The Bicycle Tree.” This isn’t a tiny faux tree adorned […]

The Man, The Tree, The Fire

There was a man who, long ago, created a life filled with unbridled joy and an awareness of the universe’s amazingness. Nevertheless, as in many stories, a shift took place; it started slowly but kept building into a flame consuming the truth until he didn’t recognize his value, his verve, or the pain that was […]

Magnificence

Awarenesses from an unusually balmy autumn day last week. I sit on the unroofed porch, listening, pondering, observing—a citizen of this world, alone; the sun shining unusually brilliant; maybe that’s just my imagination, but I don’t think so. The light illuminates the table on which I’m writing, creating flecks of green and purple never before […]

Life In Color

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. […]

Tree People

This idea started with a simple concept: “Love songs aren’t just for others. Love songs are for you too.” But, as I thought about the number of people who don’t truly experience love or struggle with trusting love, I realized that, for many, it’s often really tough just to get to the place of self-love. Sadly, some […]

Perspective

Often, true happiness is borne out of understanding what unhappy is. When young, you, likely, didn’t have a myriad of choices, but, as you “came of age,” you may have been able to turn the lens, culling joy from relationships, choosing where to share your heart, knowing when to run from pain, creating (at least to some […]

Trees

“TREES” the trees call to me they know me by name they weep spilling their leaves and pods over the earth their hearts are heavy with the knowledge that destruction surrounds their planet i whisper, “i don’t know what to do; i don’t know how to stop it” the trees call to me they know […]

Singing, Pain, Tolerance, Dust

Singing   As the sun rose, I sat facing the garden. The trunk of the majestic locust tree was on the right, the branches of the stately pines, heavy with newly fallen snow were on the left. Nature was singing. I felt small—not only physically. I felt my incorporeal smallness. I thought about an evening when […]

God Time

Last week, I was helping a client—who has a special place in my heart—get into the rhythm of starting the day with “God Time”. The morning after our time together I sent a note with these reminders: make a cup of tea or coffee; don’t do any “chore like” tasks other than this one—the things […]

Water Leaks & Calling 811 & God

Right now, there’s an excavator digging a trench, about four feet deep, from the front of my property, under the driveway (thank you God that they were able to go under instead of through it), to the house at the mudroom door. They’ve spared the beautiful flowering cherry tree in the path. If we’re fortunate […]

The Pressure Washer, The Deck and The Tree

Whenever I wasn’t with clients yesterday, I was outside pressure washing our deck.  This is an annual ritual—one that’s made even more necessary because of my beloved locust tree (“The Tree”). The Tree is very messy. Each spring, seedpods fall creating a lot of residual muck to get rid of. But, in spite of the […]

Ubuntu, Leaves & The Source

Ubuntu is the South African concept of lifting others up, affirming their value, and being genuinely joyful that their lives are good. It means “humanity”—being aware that we are part of a bigger picture; knowing that we all suffer when others are oppressed. We are not isolated but, rather, joined in our humanness. It does not […]