Art touches our intellect, but it mostly appeals to the heart. It’s not always about taking sides or arguing to be right, it’s creatively offering that pain is pain, disconnection is disconnection, love is love. It’s common ground.
I told my girls about the Paris tragedy. I explained that a few very angry people chose to harm and create fear, but their actions actually led to compassionate solidarity all over the world. They thought they were spreading hate, but instead they ignited togetherness and love. In an instant people remembered what mattered most. They stopped, became silent, prayed. …
Deep down our inner workings are good. What’s not good is all the junk piled on top of the good. The history, defensive mechanisms, trauma, judgmental thinking, biases, prejudices, and pain that blocks the good. Life is not a process of “becoming” better, we are good as we are. But we do have to commit to a consistent junk-removal process …
I have met people who make poor choices, people who act out of fear, people who demonstrate the negativity they feel. They aren’t inherently bad. They’ve just forgotten who they are. Pieces of themselves have been harmed, shamed, or forgotten. They are no longer whole, they act from brokenness. They carry unexpressed experiences and stories. They believe untrue fears that …
As I held my bunny for the last time, I couldn’t help but think about Will Gardner. I read that when the writers of The Good Wife decided to have Will die, they didn’t want it to be a typical television death, they wanted it to be abrupt, like real life. Real life is shocking. It takes you by …
It’s been a tough week. How do we process what we feel? How do we change circumstances? Dialogue and posts are great, but they tend to fade away once we accept what has occurred. I don’t want to oversimplify the complexity of the week’s events, or the challenges of our unique lives. But even the most complex issues necessitate …
This weekend one of my dear friends said something I can’t get out of my head. She said, “My dad taught me that we are obligated to live a good life, to give back in some way.” This resonated so strongly, I literally felt the words when she said them. I know that some will get caught up in the …
I took a walk with my almost-done-with-Kindergarten-6-year-old today. At her suggestion we took a garbage bag with us because she wanted it to be a “litter walk”. She explained that we pick up litter as we move and talk. And that we did. We walked through the whole park and found so much junk to throw away – this created …
I love the energy of the turtle. The real turtle, but also the cartoon turtle that lives in my head – he slowly glides through the water, smiling at everyone he sees. He gets to where he needs to go at his own pace. I have a picture of this turtle on my vision board. As a human it’s not …
I used to be uncomfortable in emotional movies because I’m a crier. I am moved very easily, I have always been moved very easily. So during a movie, or when witnessing an act of kindness, or when hearing a touching story, I would hold my breath, or wipe my eyes quickly, or blink fast – whatever needed to be done …
People create things based on their own experience. And in Sheryl Sandburg’s experience, “bossy” made her feel wrong or maybe uncomfortable. Obviously it didn’t hold her back, but when people used it with her, the energy must have felt negative or at the very least unbalanced when compared to boys. I have noticed that there are many negative articles and …
Early yesterday morning I taught my college students. We talked about how they need to take care of themselves so they can best utilize their skills. In the middle of the day I worked with elementary school students. We talked about how important it is for them to appreciate who they are and make themselves a priority. At night, I …
1. Quiet meditation (quiet time, going inside, call it what you want) When I don’t do it, I can tell. I get impatient faster and I get annoyed more often. It’s more difficult to recognize how I contribute to every situation, and even worse, it’s difficult to access that place deep down inside that recognizes the amazingness of life. 2. …
When I was 8 or 9 years old, I remember lying in bed on Christmas Eve thinking about Santa. The funny thing was I wasn’t really envisioning gifts or the way he would get in my house, I was just feeling so, so, good, and everything seemed magical. I always think about that when I think of Santa. Of course …
Sometimes I add, but I forget how to subtract. Sometimes I realize there is a lot I want to do, but only so many hours in the day. Sometimes I remember that a brain can only hold so much, and that with every over-reaching “yes”, I risk something falling through the cracks. I support women who want to be all …
When someone else makes a mistake we usually understand, but we tend to have difficulty forgiving ourselves. I used to deny mistakes, and sometimes I would blame others. Or sometimes I would sit in my mistakes for days, just to punish myself. None of that worked very well, it just made everything worse. So today I made a mistake, I …
My girls and I were in the car a lot on Sunday. When we pulled up to our final destination, they all said they were car sick. Nobody moved, my youngest looked like she was about to cry. Since we were parked right in front of my sister’s house, I told everyone to get out and lay on the grass. …
It’s so common it has its own name: Schadenfreude – finding pleasure from the misfortunes of others. And although few will admit to it, it’s a very human experience. If we see others fail, we feel better about ourselves. This is on full display in our obsession with the entertainment industry (build them up and tear them down), but it’s …
“Introvert” tends to bring up an image of a shy person in a corner, or an insecure person at home alone. But over the years I have learned that introversion isn’t about shyness or insecurity, it’s about where and how you derive your energy. Extroverts tend to get their energy from outside stimulation, and introverts tend to find it from …
Back to school tomorrow and I am appreciating a beautiful afternoon with no schedule. Part of me grieves losing summer, it was definitely a good one, but part of me doesn’t feel like longing or being sad, it just feels like smiling and rolling with it. I do feel the natural anxiety of trading a day like day for a …
