You may find yourself grasping for gratitude. In 2020, I never imagined that the world would lose its footing to a virus. Those stories belong in the history of plagues and diseases like smallpox, leprosy, or polio. Most of us have never experienced a quarantine. We've never seen businesses [...]
I accepted a friendly challenge to reflect on confinement. I thought of them as wistful questions. None of us will forget the year 2020. Our lives turned upside down, inside out, and tangled with emotion. Most of us know nothing about confinement or forced stay-at-home orders—until now. What will you [...]
Forgive Others First All she ever wanted was for someone to love her. She didn’t deserve to die. The man shot her at point-blank range. The gunshot wound at the temple left her breathing but not alive for two days. Not her first brush with domestic violence, but on [...]
In the Power of Moments, Chip and Dan Heath call us to think in moments "to recognize where the prose of life needs punctuation." Chip and Dan help us understand that, “Our lives are measured in moments, and defining moments are the ones that endure in our memories.” Today, [...]
Becoming More You The bubbing water fills the air opening the door to bird songs floating above and over the sky. If you listen closely, you might hear your own song blending and floating along rejoicing in being set free. Open — alive— you— filling your heart space becoming [...]
This morning, I woke up full of hope and captured a lovely morning sky. All seemed rosy until I began to read stories about the pandemic. My inherited worry gene kicked into full gear. Will our granddaughter enjoy her new school? What about the tires on the car? What if [...]
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This statement has several attributions, including Buddha Siddhartha Guatama Shakyamuni and Lao Tzu. As a teacher, I reminded myself of this saying every day. I might have shown up to teach, but students possessed different levels of readiness. I [...]
“I think that I will never see A poem lovely as a tree.” Joyce Kilmer’s poem, “Trees,” expresses the beauty and majesty of trees. As a child, I held a fascination for trees and wanted to hide in them all day. I can’t explain the mystical aura that surrounds [...]
I didn't want to lean into sorrow today. As I started my morning, a song from the Broadway play and movie, Camelot kept playing in my ear. The song expresses the hope of spring when we throw our cares away after the long winter. Trying to shed the sadness [...]
Stumbling Stones Stumbling stones reminded me of a past I would rather forget. I must not. As we strolled the cobblestone streets of Mainz, Germany, the guide pointed out a small brass memorial. I took a photo of the Stolpersteine with the name of someone I would never meet. [...]
