It was still dark one morning last month, when Jennifer Dempsey was awakened by the sound of her infant daughter babbling away happily in her crib. Rolling over, still half asleep, she checked her clock and saw that it was only 5 a.m. Like any overtired, sleep-deprived parent, who realizes that her precious (and necessary!) […]
Saying Goodbye to Bingo: A Life Lesson in Letting Go of Life
I. Our family had a special voice we used in order to talk on behalf of our dog, Bingo. “Bingo’s voice” was high pitched and raspy — a sort hybrid of whininess and spunk. A blend of his adorable neurosis mixed with his unstoppable joie de vivre. It turns out that (at least in our […]
Be The Answer: Alec’s Story (or “The only answer to a prayer I ever needed”)
I’ve been an educator most of my adult life. Over the years I’ve seen many children whose small and innocent lives were consumed with anger and depression — traumatized by violence, deprivation, and untenable circumstances. But, there was one boy who was by far the saddest, angriest child I had ever met. And there was […]
Be Joyful: A Missing Diamond is Cause for Celebration
I was at a meeting in a local coffee shop when I saw it. Or rather, when I didn’t see it. The diamond from my engagement ring. The symbol of undying love and commitment that I have been wearing every day for nearly two decades. Gone. At first I thought maybe my middle-aged eyes were […]
How To Be Grateful: “One of these days” … My philosophy of parenting
One of these days . . . One of these days my house will be clean. I will not find dirty socks stuffed between the couch cushions because it is apparently too far to walk to the hamper. I will not have to muffle a cry of pain in the middle of the night because […]
How To Be Unburdened: Give Your Complaints a Little Trim
Am I burdened? Or am I blessed? I have a house to clean. I have children to shuttle around. I have a job that needs to be attended to. I have money that I am not managing as well as I could. I have tons friends I just can’t seem to keep up with. There […]
How to be Present to Beauty: A Memory
All I wanted was a little peace and quiet. A moment alone. I longed for the kind of happiness that a little self-imposed solitude might bring. And I had it all set up just as I had envisioned it: A cup of tea in my hands. A novel (enthusiastically recommended by a friend) sitting temptingly […]
How To Be Transformative: Turn your troubles into treasure
Our troubles are like compost. From all outward appearances, they’re unsightly and smelly. We’d like to shove them away into a dark place where we’ll never have to look at them again. But just as compost will yield rich soil if we are willing to let it be — if we are willing to care […]
How To Be Celebratory: The release of our new video, “Sticky Notes”
I saw this video in my head long before it made it’s premier on YouTube. The actors. The expressions. The movements. I knew just how it would unfold. Just how it would be paced. I wanted to make a short film that would illustrate what it means to have a “To Be List.” And with […]
How To Be Realistic: Don’t just see the big picture. See the small picture, too.
Sometimes when we lose perspective, we are encouraged by friends and family to look at the “big picture”. And of course there are times when we really need to “zoom out” and see that the problems we are having — problems that appear to be so enormous and threatening — are in the larger scheme […]
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