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!) […]
Be Choosy: Thoughts are Like Music. Listen to the Stuff You Like.
A wise person once said to me that listening to negative thoughts all day is like having the world’s largest CD collection (or I guess nowadays we would say “The world’s largest iTunes library) and all day choosing to listen to the music you hate the most. The music that depresses you. The music that […]
Enlightenment of the Middle Ages: Spiritual Lessons I Have Learned in Midlife
I turned fifty this past summer. Which means if I live to be one-hundred (which is an actual goal) I am squarely and undeniably smack dab in the middle of my life. Middle age has its petty annoyances. It also has its perks. I may not be able to see the dosage information on the […]
Top Ten Videos that Will Make You Cry (In a Good Way!)
NOTE: Scroll on down if you just want to see the “TOP TEN Videos that Will Make You Cry”! I am a big believer in the healing power of tears. I believe this because I am a cryer. I cry at weddings. Graduations. Bar Mitzvahs. Movies. Poetry. Prayers. And yes, even commercials. I cry every […]
Be Grateful: May You Have Many Worries
“I vow to let go of all worries and anxiety in order to be light and free.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh My mother was what you might call a “professional worrier.” She worried with skill, power, and acumen. She could incisively hone in on the most seemingly benign situation and find within it some kernel of […]
Be Courageous: There’s more than one way to do it . . .
Courage doesn’t always mean rushing into a burning building to save a life. Courage can be asking forgiveness. Or courage can mean offering it. Courage can mean honoring your true feelings or openly accepting the feelings of another (no matter how uncomfortable those feelings are). Courage can mean walking into a gym. Or a […]
Be Grateful: You are never as alone as you imagine
There is solace in every breeze. Support in the ground below you. Nurturance in every raindrop. In gratitude for these we will find connection and healing. We are never as alone as we imagine. There is compassion within the warmth of sunlight. Openness in the sky above you. Peace in the drift of the clouds. […]
How to be Appreciative: Appreciating Appreciation
Today’s Reverb10 prompt from Victoria Klein asks: “What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?” Here is my answer: Kids are naturally like miniature lawyers. They are always on the lookout for a good loophole. So (for example) if you were to […]
How To Be Connected: A Class Reunion in Cyberspace
During the month of December, I’ll be participating in a project called Reverb 10. Reverb 10 is “an open online initiative that encourages participants to reflect on this year and manifest what’s next. It’s an opportunity to retreat and consider the reverberations of your year past, and those that you’d like to create in the year ahead.” Each day […]
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 […]
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