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Powering Through
We’re approaching the one-year anniversary of the beginning of quarantine. A year! A challenging and emotional march through four seasons. How have we changed and what have we learned? Where do we go from here? Although we may be sensing the light at the end of this dark tunnel we’ve been walking through, there’s not much clarity as to how or even when this unexpected journey will end. This time of the year lends itself to being inside, reflecting, seeing, evaluating where we are and where we want to be. Given all that has happened this last year, many of us feel anxious about the future. We’re hoping for positive change…
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Endings & New Beginnings
January 2021 began with a bang and an intensity that rocked us. We had hoped for a deep breath of fresh air and a new beginning. We knew that things were not going to change overnight. They didn’t. Instead, January 6th happened. The images, intensity, and sheer scope of the day’s events jolted me and activated memories, emotions, and past experiences that I thought were behind me. If you too experienced an avalanche of emotions or strong memories, please remember it’s normal. Research has shown that traumatic events can trigger this kind of response. Take good care and be extra patient with yourselves. I was grateful when on January 11th, a…
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Imagine – Hope
Hello everyone, Welcome to the finish line of 2020, a truly unprecedented year. We’re a few hours away from a brand new and much-needed beginning. We ought to give ourselves credit for getting through and being here, ready and able to exhale. Is anything going to change drastically at the dawn of the New Year? Probably not, but change will come…slowly, painstakingly, deliberately, and at times, unexpectedly. ‘Tis the nature of change. Of course! The path to heavendoesn’t lie down in flat miles.It’s in the imaginationwith which you perceivethis world,and the gestureswith which you honor it.Oh, what will I do, what will I say, when thosewhite wingstouch the shore? Mary OliverExcerpt…
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In-Between
Hello everyone, I hope this finds you healthy and warm. December 21st marks the darkest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and it comes on the heels of our first major snowstorm. People around the world celebrate Winter Solstice and the beginning of winter by bringing the light inside. We gather around the fire, decorate with fairy lights and candles, and participate in various rituals and ceremonies which remind us that, after a long journey through darkness, the light always returns. 2020 has been a year of immense change, widespread suffering, and, frankly, madness. We’re all being tested as we’re trying to navigate the turbulent waters of the pandemic…
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On Small Miracles
Our capacity for sharing love and celebrating hasn't diminished because of the imposed limitations. What if we gave ourselves permission to explore new and creative ways to celebrate? Our lives are held together by small miracles and infinite beauty. Pausing to recognize that which we take for granted can open up the vaults of joy right where we stand.
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In Gratitude
We're approaching Thanksgiving week. How do we celebrate in this new environment? Can we begin by breathing in gratitude for all we have, here and now? These days I try to focus on what I can do in the present moment instead of getting frustrated with my limitations. I appreciate even more the gifts of ordinary moments.
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On Absorbing Joy
Hello everyone, How are you feeling? I just wanted to let you know that I’m thinking of you and sending you all warmth and peace. Today, I’m sitting down to write about something really important and hard to remember as we’re navigating these days of uncertainty and anxiety. For the sake of our own resilience, we need to strengthen our capacity to accept and absorb joy. Sharon Salzberg It’s been getting harder and harder to find our capacity for absorbing joy, hasn’t it? We’re in the midst of a pandemic and there’s no end in sight. People are losing their lives and livelihoods. Then, there’s the election on Tuesday, and emotions…
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A Time to Breathe – An Invitation
“To pause is to go on a pilgrimage into ourselves. We discover something new every time.” It’s never been easy being a woman. These days, it’s beyond challenging. Women have become caretakers on overdrive. We’re negotiating profound changes and heightened emotions, along with the logistics of caring for the home, family, our professional lives, and our communities. Our well-being and sanity are being undermined daily. Let’s face it, does self-care even make the list? Where do we start? When do we even get the time to breathe? Yet, here’s another fact. In order to cross the gauntlet of our current reality and make it to the other side, we need to…
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Sacred Space
Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again. Joseph Campbell Lately, I’ve been waking up even earlier than usual. Fall has already made its entrance, and I find that I need more quiet, alone time with myself. It’s dark outside when I make my way downstairs. The light arrives faintly around 6 am. Nature comes alive when we’re going to sleep, and the animals wrap up their activity as the morning light announces itself. The coyotes are having a howling convention in the late evening hours. As I tiptoe around my kitchen in the early morning hours, I catch glimpses of activity I wouldn’t have noticed…
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The Transformation Process
“Sweetheart, you are in pain. Relax. Take a breath. Let’s pay attention to what is happening. Then we’ll figure out what to do.” –– Sylvia Boorstein Recently, I came across this quote by Sylvia Boorstein. This was not the first time I read that, in her effort to cultivate loving-kindness, Sylvia addresses herself as “Sweetheart,” especially when self-criticism and self-doubt bubble up. Today, as my daughter and I were driving to visit a friend, I found myself sharing these words with her and talking about the importance of practicing loving-kindness and how this practice needs to also include ourselves. It has never been easy for me to include myself in the…
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On Strength, Health, and Sanity
The day after Paying Attention was published, I received a thoughtful email from a friend and faithful reader of my posts. She usually writes back to let me know what the post meant to her, asks me questions, and at times challenges me to go deeper. These email conversations have become our little ritual, and I love it. After I posted Paying Attention, I sat with what I had written. I felt that the post was incomplete. There was more to say about how each of us is handling the tremendous stress and pressure we’re experiencing. There’s nothing straightforward about our current, collective experience. When I received my friend’s reply to…
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Paying Attention
Is there anyone among us who doesn’t know by now that we’re being shaken to our core by immense social and global changes? There’s the ever-evolving pandemic, the chaotic political landscape, and the recent, long-due protests that the NY Times is calling “the largest movement in the country’s history, according to interviews with scholars and crowd-counting experts.” Although we all inhabit this world at the same time, our individual experience of the crises are not of the same intensity. Yes, our lives have been disrupted and our rhythms and rituals upended. But then, there’s loss of life, livelihood, and security. There’s a thundering, universal demand for letting go. Letting go of…
