It’s easy to hate people when we depersonalize them and keep them at arm’s length. But when we get to know them, when their troubles …
Holding Hands with Strangers
When we are in crisis… when we are feeling utterly lost and tested… when life feels like it’s crashing all around us… we still have …
Speak Truth to Lies (Be Civil)
According to Carl Jung, paradox is essential for understanding. How would we know hot without cold? How would we know up without down? How would …
Where Are You Hiding?
Is your sense of belonging dependent upon feeling in control? When her husband offered her the trip she had longed for, instead of getting excited, …
True Belonging
True belonging. Those words conjure up a very specific picture for me as a recovering fitting-in person. Striving to fit in had only created a …
Are You Showing Up as Your True Self?
Most of my career was spent in a world dominated by men, tough men, primarily engineering types. I’m a smallish woman who danced ballet, played …
Never Underestimate the Power of Being Seen
In Braving the Wilderness, Brené Brown speaks candidly and transparently about using self-destructive behaviors to soothe the lack of belonging she so keenly felt. She …
Becoming a Memory Guardian
We recently sold our childhood home. As I stood in front of it for the last time that it was still part of our family, …
What Does “Belonging” Mean to You?
What does “belonging” mean to you? The dictionary defines it as being a member or part of a particular group, organization, or class. As children, …
Braving the Wilderness – The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
I’ve been reading Braving the Wilderness – The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone, the newest book from social scientist Brené …
Almost-Famous Marinara Sauce – Good for the Body and Soul (Recipe Included)
The calendar may say April, but the weather is once again chilly, rainy, and utterly dreary. It feels more like Day 97 of January than …
The YES Diet – How to Stop Saying YES When You Want to Say NO
It’s that time of year again. The internet is full of people making resolutions, posting their Word of the Year, and committing to saying YES …
My Word of the Year (Watchword) for 2018 is Self-Care. What’s Yours”
My personal word of the Year (Watchword) for 2018 is Self-Care. But not the chocolate and bubble bath variety that seems to pop up everywhere. …
Understanding Ho’oponopono – the Ancient Hawaiian Art of Forgiveness
Ho’oponopono came on my radar around 2008. It was time for another deep dive into self-healing and I sensed that forgiveness related to men and …
10,000 Steps and Counting – My Fitbit Anniversary
My husband gave me a Fitbit for Christmas 2017. I suspect he was weary of listening to me whine about becoming sedentary and brag about …
Why This Agnostic Looks Forward to Putting Out the Christmas Creche
(originally written at the beginning of Advent in 1998, updated in November 2017) Although I’m agnostic, every Christmas season as our children were growing up …
7 Secrets to Success in Anything or How to Be Happy in 7 Simple Steps
This post can only begin with a confession. Two confessions, actually. Confession # 1 – This little gem is paraphrased from an article in Southern Living …
Need a Little Help Getting to Sleep? Sip this Delicious ZZZ Powerhouse (Recipe Included)
Starting around age 40, I began having trouble getting to sleep. That had NEVER happened before, and I might have even been called the Sleeping …
The Case for Spoiling Our Four-Legged Friends – Soulmate Pets
When Steve and I first met, I was owned by a rescue kitty named Callie Mae who had come into my life as a hostess …
To Relieve Stress Practice Mindful Yoga Walking
Ah, stress. It has been my constant companion for several years now. Some is good stress. Some is not. All is exhausting. And it’s just …