The Art of Change
Does it hurt when a snake sheds its skin? Or when a caterpillar liquefies to transform into a butterfly? I wonder. Because my life has felt like a consistent shedding, liquefying and re-forming. Usually there is a marked improvement (ooooh – pretty wings!) but sometimes not (eeew – from vibrant green to muddy brown). The…
Secret Ingredients
I’m in the opening stretch of a very busy time, and only getting busier. I feel my body wanting to brace for impact, and it takes diligence to keep telling myself to lean in and soften. It’s so easy to spiral into the impossibility of it all – too many to-do’s for one person, three…
Coffee and Course Correcting
I just recently started drinking coffee. You might find that unremarkable. Coffee is the most widely enjoyed beverage/drug/hobby in the world. What’s remarkable, or maybe just interesting, is that my behavior change comes after a lifetime of finding the smell, taste and effects of coffee completely unappealing. I grew up in a coffee household, a…
What We See: A Practice in Choosing
My daughter is messy. Very messy. It never crosses her mind to pick up the clothes she flings on the floor, to put away her plate or cup, or to clean off her desk so there’s actually a usable surface. We live in a small space so everything is amplified, and minor messes become unmanageable…
Meditation Monday II – The Art of Change
For most of us, change is worrisome. It touches the parts of us that dislike uncertainty and crave consistency and comfort. Whether we are turning the calendars over to a new year, watching nature bring on a new season, or praying for the next sunrise, we are surrounded by the energy of change. There is…
Personal Grace
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, sitting at my dining room table, tapping away at the keys of my laptop. It’s a warm sunny day, and the day is filled with grace. I am weeks behind on work, completely unprepared for the trip I am taking tomorrow, and my taxes are…
How To Change – In An Instant
The recipe: Stop doing the old thing Start doing the new thing Celebrate Easy, right? The prevailing wisdom on shifting habits centers around being slow and steady. Consistency and patience are key. If you try to dive in too fast, or too hard, failure is guaranteed. This applies to everything from losing…
Time to Get to Work
The most challenging part about what I do is describing it. I can wax philosophical for minutes at a time about the spiritual nature of reality, the adventurous journey of remembering who we are, and the practice of contentment. This typically results in glazed eyes, and an occasional remark – “You get paid for that??”…
Afraid of the Dark
Scenario #1: I’m standing in line at the gate, waiting to board the plane. The announced boarding time has passed, and the crowd is growing impatient. Cell phones start pinging, as passengers receive notifications that the flight is delayed 90 minutes, although there has been no formal announcement. Finally, the gate agent broadcasts the official…
The Gift of a New Year
It’s the last day of 2013. It was a good year, with less tragedy and more wonder. I learned an enormous amount, and had a great time connecting with all of you through my newsletter, blog and travels around the world. The experiment I called ‘What do I want to do when I grow up?’…