DeMaskifying: Being Real

photo by Michele Feher I start a new project by plucking my eyebrows. Working from home makes this not quite as peculiar a ritual as if I were in an office working among other people. We all have our little (or not so little) idiosyncrasies that are the beauty of what make us who we are. Sharing about my eyebrow ritual is a harmless example of the opportunity we can create for others when we tell the truth about...

Be the Light

After a recent program in Florida, a group of us went swimming in the ocean at midnight. The safety of the group allowed me to relax into swimming in the darkness. We were in the cycle of a new moon and it was very, very dark. Stepping into the shallow surf, I looked down to see a shower of tiny lights in my wake. As I submerged and began to slowly swim through the water, fireflies shot out the tips of my fingers....

Mending in the Mountains

I just returned from Montana where I was invited to be the guest speaker at Mending in the Mountains, an annual retreat in Big Sky for women who have experienced cancer. The retreat is the brainchild of the Cancer Support Community of Montana and featured a compassionately designed agenda of talks, workshops, support groups, recreation, and self care. It takes place at the relaxing 320 Guest Ranch surrounded by...

The Sacrament of the Present Moment

Sometimes it takes me what seems like forever to actually dive into a creative project, life change or new habit that has been nudging away to get my attention. I get caught up in a spin of how to start, what the result will look like, how it will be when I’ve achieved what I want – with all the pros and cons that clutter up the back seat as they tag along for the ride. I often find myself future tripping when I...

Nurturing Health for the Holidays

Christmas (and other highly social activity driven holidays) takes a lot of emotional and physical energy. Even if we don’t celebrate, we are surrounded by the collective frenzy. The tendency is to neglect our own self-care. We eat in ways we don’t normally eat, skip exercise, forgo meditating and other personal practices, and generally put ourselves further down on the list of things to attend to. Although we may...

The Great Silence

  She’s 4, almost 5, years old. Dirty face and uncombed hair, she sits in the shadows – arms cradling knees held tightly to her chest. She doesn’t make much eye contact. She was slow to communicate. We got acquainted by drawing together. She likes to draw with colors and play outside. Robin Hood is her favorite because he lives in a forest, shoots a bow and arrows, and fights mean people. She’d like to live in...

Gratitude for You

In this season of gratitude, it is rare to spend much time reflecting on what we are grateful for about ourselves. We will include thanks for good health but don’t often go deeper into appreciating who we are at our core – our gifts, inner resources, and contributions. In fact, there are ingrained societal and cultural taboos against it. When it comes to thinking about ourselves, we are much better at identifying...

Sharing Beauty

  Walking into the park in the early morning I came upon three Japanese visitors on their way out. Beaming smiles they kept repeating in heavily accented English: “beautiful, beautiful, beautiful” while pointing over toward a long row of tall bushes. Looking closer in the direction they were pointing I saw three deer munching their breakfast – two young bucks and a fawn. The visitors were giddy they were so...

Dance with the Mystery

Coincidence. Serendipity. Chance. Happy accidents. Miracles. Synchronicity. These are some of the ways we characterize the mysterious and magical events that happen in our lives that we can’t explain. Watching Shakespeare In Love again recently, I was reminded of the key role this invisible force plays in the creative process.  On many levels the film brilliantly captures the essence of creativity. This time...

Living in Gratitude

Angeles Arrien’s newest book, Living in Gratitude – A Journey That Will Change Your Life, has just made a timely debut.  Like all of her work and past writings she brings multicultural wisdom to everyday life in a practical way that supports each of us in living our life dream. From the Introduction: “Living in Gratitude is designed to carry you through a full calendar year, month by month.  It approaches the topic...

Here’s to the Crazy Ones

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs Why does...

The Big Love Fund

I’m on retreat this week.  Enjoy this post from my friend Clare Campbell in Liverpool and join in on the Big Love Fund. …as if for an instant we had all learned how to give all our money away, watching it return without a shirt on its back… happy and singing, telling stories and introducing us to brilliant company, walking as if we could be dangerous again, dangerous in our generosity. –...

Bill Cunningham NY

He’s 82 years old. Wears a functional, blue workman’s smock whenever he’s shooting: New York society galas, Paris Fashion Week, out and about on the streets of Manhattan. Lived in a small studio in Carnegie Hall – a single bed crammed between rows of filing cabinets overflowing with his life’s work. No kitchen, bathroom down the hall.  Rides his Schwin bicycle wherever he goes – his 29th Schwin. Without a...

Get Your Feet Wet

LEARNING CURVE ALERT – This post is a semi do-over from last week.  I was on the road and posting while tired, indecisive and not completely sure how to handle the technology of deleting a post and substituting another.  The result?  A blog post that was missing the main graphic,  featured two posts back to back and a video link that didn’t work.  I’m sending the second post again complete with...

Musings on Miss Frizzle

The Magic School Bus was one of my favorite shows to watch with my daughter when she was growing up.  It featured the teacher everyone wished they had, Miss Frizzle (represented by the voice of Lily Tomlin).  Miss Frizzle came to class dressed to represent the subject matter about to be studied.  The solar system unit featured planet earrings, rocket ship shoes, and images of galaxies printed on her dress. The...