The secret to a happy life you ask?
Ah, yes, I have one of the answers.
Whistle.
Seriously. Whistle!
I come from a family of beautiful whistlers—my mom (a song bird!), her dad, me, and my oldest son. My mom taught me to whistle when I was a wee girl and I remember the immense pride I felt when I finally got it! And I’ve been whistling pretty much non-stop every since (apologies to my…
Aren’t those things we do—and say to ourselves—in those first minutes after awakening, the tone-setters for the whole day?
Jumping out of bed and racing out of the house, coffee in one hand, kid in the other—leads one direction. (Eek! The dreaded time pressure, high survival launching out the door—I remember those days! Oh my gosh—my chest is clenching!)
Versus slow. Slow start. Slow breaths.…
Dear One,
Isn’t everything we do about love—ultimately?
It is for me.
My family. My work. My friends. My writing. My walks in the woods. My struggles and overwhelm. All of it.
It all adds up to bringing more love into this world—my world, your world, our world. The only thing that matters.
Here’s what I did today: I gave my support to RAICES—The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and…
Do you have one or two (or five!) people in your life who challenge you?
Yes, me too!
I’m a big fan of permission slips but I forgot mine recently and got into big trouble with one of the energy vampires in my life (you know those people?). Dang if they didn’t sneak up on me, leaving me feeling exhausted and angry (for letting myself become disempowered).
I forgot my permission slip! But it’s…
Does this quote resonate with you as it does me? (Many thanks to my great mentor, Sydney Baker MD, extraordinary physician and Functional Medicine pioneer, for sharing!)
“Follow those who seek the truth, but flee from those who have found it.”
-Vaclav Havel (1936-2011, Czech Republic)
He reminds me that:
The truth is really our truth.
And we misplace our power when we see the truth everywhere…
Ever feel like life is going too fast? There’s too much to do? Not enough time?
Me too.
But I realize it’s all a matter of perception… and the choices I make.
I choose what to do. I can do less. And time? I choose what to do with that too.
There’s plenty of time for what’s important. And what happens when I’m less stretched and more present? Timelessness.
My four-year book project went into…
“… We have not come into this exquisite world
to hold ourselves hostage from love.
Run, my dear, from anything
that may not strengthen
Your precious budding wings,
Run like hell, my dear,
From anyone likely to put a sharp knife
into the sacred, tender vision
Of your beautiful heart…”
-Hafiz (Sufi poet, 1310-1390)
Yes, he nailed it. We deserve love. We’re worthy of love. (Yes, ALL of us.) We…
In speaking to my son about the grind and muck of graduate school and the uncertainty and trials of putting the pieces of his dream together, I showed him a beautiful book I’m currently reading that I thought was relevant to his situation. Written by renowned Zen Buddhist master, Thich Nhat Hanh, it’s called “No Mud, No Lotus.”
He looked at it, and before I had a chance to explain, he commented…
Dear One,
What’s the reason for putting off those personal goals, dreams, desires, and juicy projects? Those things we would love to do or know we must do?
The number one reason I hear from people (I can be one of those people too) is, “I don’t have time.”
But you know what? I don’t buy it.
A closer look reveals two common themes:
We make our goals too big—so it seems like we don’t have…
Yep. That’s me—a chocolate maniac. My favorite food, drug, and best friend (sorry pooches!) all rolled up into one freakish substance!
Check out what I concocted today that knocked my socks off and rocked my world…
Divine Cocoa-Blueberry Pudding
Place in high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
Dear Ones,
Try this one on:
“I’m not afraid. I was born to do this.”
-attributed to Joan of Arc
Did you feel the way that washed over you? The way it sunk in and soothed the fear? Just a bit?
Me too.
Her words make me feel brave. Like I can face the many things that shake me—like:
Dear Ones,
Are we just outsiders? Outliers? Losers?
Or are we unique?
We failed those treatments that came straight out of our physicians’ “practice guidelines” or that we read about on-line. Even those popular “miraculous” food and lifestyle protocols that worked so well for the authors, or our friends, did nothing for us.
What’s the problem?
Guess what? We’re not all the same.
Part of my work…
“You will get better.”
Said my new rehab doctor after our first visit, utterly stunning me.
I had yet to hear any such words during my multi-year saga of pain and dysfunction. No one—not one—of the perhaps dozen professionals I had sought help from in the past years had given me any scrap of hope that I might recover.
It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, I had one complicated…
“Teach the tongue to say, “I do not know,”
and thou shalt progress.”
–Moses Maimonides, ca 1200 AD
Good advice for what seems like a culture full of know-it-alls.
Physicians are some of the worst offenders. I remember in medical school being taught that if I didn’t know an answer, make one up. And if I didn’t feel confident, fake it for the professors and patients.
I failed at that.
What I’ve…
Yep. As humans, we have fewer genes in our books of life than a grain of rice. Or a worm. Or many of God’s smallest creatures.
Does that mean we’re just puny and insignificant? Do we have far fewer options than we believed? Less wiggle room as our destinies unfold? Did the genome project leave us high and dry?
Not at all. In fact, the truth about our genetic legacy is just the opposite.
Let’s…
I love this story my husband sent me from Reddit:
Nobody dared go near the tower. A fearsome dragon sat on its top.
Until one day, a knight rode up:
“Do you need help getting down?”
“Please.”
This is a story about assumptions—Big Assumptions. Assumptions made about how the dragon was to be feared, that he was dangerous, that he was a dragon.
This story reminds me of an angry client I once…
Trust your body–it will never lie or judge you.
Have you struggled in your relationship with your body—like me?
I used to be completely disconnected from mine. I thought my mind was in the control seat and my body was just my servant—to submit to my absolute authority. I ignored it, pushed it, abused it, and rejected it, not knowing it was the source of who I was, the answers to all my…