How do we cultivate patience? That’s the prevailing theme for the week. It’s shown up in almost every session with clients. And we all seem to agree: it’s HARD to do patience. So yes, I’ve been known to ask clients how they cultivate their patience. But I’ve learned it’s not a very effective question. And … Continue reading
One Word Madness
It’s that time again. When people do a little dance with their gray matter and attempt to capture an entire year in a single word. Okay, sometimes it’s two words. Maybe even three. Or a whole phrase. But however many words are on the agenda, it always makes me tense up. It feels reductive. Constrained. … Continue reading
Celebrating Myself Home With An Art Journal
Around this time last year I was writing about home. Pondering its nature and wondering what it means to go back. Reminding myself that to truly appreciate home, we have to leave it first. So in the final post of the series, I wrote: Leave home we do, throughout our lives. But I don’t just mean those … Continue reading
Why You Don’t Need to Fix Yourself
Last month I was on the receiving end of a technique meant to help people feel better about themselves and their lives. Well, maybe technique is the wrong word. You could probably call it a movement, since it’s gained many followers. And I was game to try it, at least once. So there I was: Answering … Continue reading
Creative Blocks or Multipotentiality?
If you’re new here you may not know this, but my writing has been somewhat sporadic lately. It’s not that I have nothing to say. Quite the contrary, loads of ideas are vying for space in the old right brain. Daily, it seems, a new inspiration knocks at my door. But the urgency to get … Continue reading
The Fur Person
One of the sweetest gifts I ever received was a slim paperback volume by May Sarton – The Fur Person. If you haven’t read it, it’s the endearing story of the stray cat (Mr. Tom Jones) who adopted Sarton. As he insinuates himself into the household and truly makes a home there, he transforms from … Continue reading
Whose Life Could You Improve With A Sabbatical?
Almost without fail, my quest to nest asserts itself at this time of year. The big stock pot emerges from the cupboard, ready for the simmering soups it will host. The oven gets called back to work from its months-long vacation. And out come the warm blankets and fluffy comforters. My sewing machine will probably … Continue reading
Dream the Impossible Dream (Redux)
I am I Don Quixote…The Lord of La Mancha…My Destiny Calls and I Go! When I hear this refrain, I get all excited-tingly inside. And I’m not alone, apparently. Last Saturday night I sat in a packed theatre with a bunch of other people, all of us watching Don Quixote’s magical quest unfold and letting … Continue reading
Kind of Like In Life
So. I wasn’t going to write this week because I’m immersed in seeing clients, consulting with my mentor, getting ready for a weekend out-of-town, and lots of other stuff. And right now I’m preparing to finish some paperwork that must be completed today. OK, to be perfectly honest I’m procrastinating. Eating a cookie. Sitting in a chair. … Continue reading
Love and Work
During the past ten years I’ve had tons of conversations with clients about work. So it’s sort of surprising that I don’t write much about it. Maybe that’s because I’ve listened to so many stories: the dreams and yearnings, the suffering and sadness. The elation of finally moving towards a calling; the sheer frustration of … Continue reading