From up here, on the crest of the hill, the valley unfolds. It’s dotted with vineyards, roaming cows, charming restaurants and jaunty hills. On a clear day I can see acres of blue sky and on a not-so-clear day it’s good too, the coastal fog rolling in and extending its puffy, dark grasp into the … Continue reading
I have to thank Charlotte, over at Wordstrumpet, for inspiring me to take on the topic of balance. Back in April she wrote a thoughtful post about balance that stayed with me for weeks. So I figured it was high time I wrote about balance too. As Charlotte tells it, there’s been some talk lately about how … Continue reading
Time…thou ceaseless lackey to eternity. ~Shakespeare For a long time I was tentative about the idea oflife balance. It conjured up images of hanging scales, suspended in mid-air, perfectly even. Or small, orderly piles of things – I don’t know, maybe rocks or shells – all mounded in equal proportions. Taken together, these images hinted … Continue reading
UNTIL A FEW MONTHS AGO, I ALWAYS DROVE TO WORK SKIRTING THE EDGES OF THE PARK. For years I did this without a second thought, because it was the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B. In fact, if you were to Google map the journey from home to office, this is … Continue reading
Pondering the sniffles on Monday got me thinking about something else. Something different, but related. I suppose I would call it an evolving awareness that I’ve come to after 10 years as a counselor and coach. Turns out I’m no longer surprised when clients tell me they welcome getting sick. Or even being hospitalized for … Continue reading
The good news is that creative expression, whether that means writing, dancing, bird-watching, or cooking, can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty. ~Anne Lamott Hard to believe, but I’ve now completed three months of Meaning … Continue reading
Experimenting. That’s what I’ve been doing this month, down in my imaginary Meaning Mondays lab. Concocting potions and elixirs. Adding a dash of this. Removing a bit of that. Adjusting the flame. Timing it all so that the spell I want to cast turns out just right. Lest you think I’m some mad scientist, replete … Continue reading
Deep play allows one to feel quintessentially alive, heartbeat by heartbeat, in the eternal present. The here-and-now becomes a pop-up storybook, full of surprises, in which everything looms. It returns us to the openness of childhood. ~Diane Ackerman I pulled my chair towards the window and plopped down. Yes, 30 minutes, I thought. I’ll sit … Continue reading
It was shaping up to be a ragged week. As much as the parched California landscape needs the rain, and as grateful as I am that El Nino has purportedly arrived, the onslaught required a period of adjustment for me. And of course, the first storms of the year brought with them the minor aggravations … Continue reading
This is the story of a small, gently used teapot. It came into my life three years ago, a gift from my husband. Claimed from among a ragged family of fiestaware at an antique store. And like the friskiest puppy in the litter, it called out: pick me, pick me! “A real find,” Dave proclaimed, … Continue reading
living deep studio 