Inspired by an acronym I once heard for “fine,” here’s my current take: F—Fucked-up I—Isolated N—Nettled E—Exhausted At the start of a Zoom meeting with a new colleague, when we exchanged pleasantries, I asked how she was doing. “Fine,” she...
Grieving in My Own Time After my mom died, I was flattened. Exhausted, I wanted to wait three months, or maybe even a year, before doing something in her memory. My brother kindly agreed. During that time, I recalled someone telling me, “Do it your way.” I...
Shed Expectations: Nearly 50 years into my meditation practice, a moment from 2007 still resonates. While on a retreat in India, a friend expressed her struggles with meditation during an evening walk. My friend shared that she really couldn’t meditate. I felt badly...
I was seven years old standing in the wings waiting for my turn to step out onto the stage. Despite knowing all my lines, moments before I was to take those few enormous steps to center stage, my mind went blank, and my lines disappeared. I wanted to turn to someone,...
September 22nd is the fall equinox. Another year, another fall, a time of harvest. To see, to re-member, to gather, and to celebrate what we are growing and have grown in our gardens this year. Sometimes, we are moving so fast in our lives that we don’t take a...
A few months ago, I was thinking about the end of May. Because at the end of May is when my mom would have been 100 years-old. I found myself reflecting on her life and the loving, joyful effect she had on those around her. During this time, I wanted to gather with...
Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak whispers the o’er fraught heart and bids it break. ~William Shakespeare The World as I Knew It Was Gone When my mom died, I was flattened. The rug wasn’t pulled out from under my feet. The rug was pulled out from under...
The body’s wisdom and its premonitions can change plans and shift the sands under our feet without notice. Life is not always easy when this occurs. When things suddenly change, it can throw us into personal or professional havoc, and have us questioning...
Twelve years old and a summer swim team is a touchstone on the timeline of my life. Little known fact, I’m a great swimmer. It’s one of the few things I’m not modest about. My teacher and coach, Bob Schleihauf, taught me the most about swimming. Before him was another...
It has been over six weeks since the massacre of children and their teachers in Uvalde, Texas. But I still remember the narrator’s voice on the evening TV news saying, “It will be a long time before life returns to normal.” I was stunned by those words....
Works of art are of an infinite solitude and no means of approach is so useless as criticism. Only Love can touch and hold them and be fair to them. Always trust yourself and your own feeling as opposed to argumentations, discussions or introductions of that...
Shortly after my mom died, I drove to see a friend who was in town visiting from New York City. We met for lunch at a restaurant, and on the way home I unconsciously drove through a red light. Thankfully, no other cars were around. A few weeks later, I went through a...
Hello Friend, As someone who has become a grief educator, it serves to talk about grief, about sorrow and loss. Two reasons come quickly to mind. First, our culture at-large can then begin to understand the many colors of sorrow and loss without sweeping it under the...
Time is such an elusive monster. I say monster because of the way it dominates our lives with clocks, watches, meetings, appointments … I’m already exhausted just writing that out. How often do you think or hear someone say, “I don’t have the...
Taking breaks and time-outs from your work is essential to your health, essential to your feeling good, and relaxed and successful as you move through your days. Instead of the daily grind and rat race many people find themselves in, how do you stop and rest in the...
We are in bodies and bodies need to rest – even if we don’t think we do! What happens when you don’t rest? What are the physical benefits of resting? And what kind of breathing is good for your heart? Learn why rest is essential to your physical...
This was written in early January of 2020 It’s the small things that help me. Tonight at the local grocery store, outside, eating under the stars is one of their workers* on break, a young man who is also autistic. He’s very open about his autism. He’s sweet and kind...
I live in what people call a predominantly “red” state, and I just returned from visiting another predominantly “red” state, staying at the home of a man with Trump signs in his yard. I am a Biden supporter. I don’t own a gun or any weapons. I don’t stock food and...
When someone we know in the news, an entertainment celebrity, a sports figure, fashion or music takes their own life, it can send shock waves through our fragile systems, and shock waves through the world. We have been touched by their lives and sometimes feel...
My mom, Cathy, was a great rester and is the inspiration behind REST. She started meditating for an hour a day when I was a young girl. As a teenager, I joined her in meditation, which became a lifelong practice. But beyond meditation, my mom knew how to go into a...
