When I was growing up my mother taught Sunday School. Each May she would have her kindergartners cut the tops off their half pint milk cartons, fill them with dirt, and then plant a Pansy inside to take home to their mothers for Mother’s Day. I once asked her if she chose the Pansy for …
Category Archive: Uncategorized
May
12
May
11
We are All A Link
In some of my yoga classes, we work towards a goal pose—a pose that might be challenging or new to students. We do postures to precede the goal pose by linking together a sequence that helps get us to where we are going. In this way, we can start to appreciate the work that goes …
May
10
Switch…One Gear at a Time
When I was in college my boss at a restaurant tried to teach me how to drive stick shift. He was a kind, patient soul…I really don’t know what he was thinking. As we took to the streets in his pick-up truck, I concentrated completely. I was pressing in the clutch and gripping the gear …
May
09
Self Expression through Socks
I have friends that I can count on to bring a smile to my face in the way that they offer a bit of themselves to the universe. A unique bit. I’m appreciative of the kind friend who is always reliable in speaking well of others…no bad mouthing has ever slipped over those lips. I …
May
08
Seeing the Stars
In our neck of the woods lately we’ve had a lot of rain…and not of that little nuisance sprinkling variety. It’s been the kind that can knock you over with its big winds, the kind where the thunder rolls over and right down your spine. We know it’s good for our plants and our county’s …
May
07
Pesky Persistence Pays Off
Persistence is a pesky word if you ask me. It rings up words like perspire, petulant, and even pain. That may be true or I may just have a penchant for alliteration. But really I often question the idea of persistence until, well, I persist. I persist in not giving up.
May
06
Take a Sip, Not a Gulp
How is it that the start of a new work week can simultaneously feel full of potential and full of impossibilities? Perhaps we approach the list of to do items with great vigor and hope, but then we feel the undertow as it pulls at us and makes us think we will never get it …
May
05
Breathing in, I dwell in the present. Breathing out, I am this wonderful moment.
I have always liked this meditation offered by Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and writer Thich Nhat Hanh. It is simple, yet packed with power. This month, as some of my friends know, I am preparing for another residency at school which means papers to write, manuscripts to prepare, books to be read. I am also …
May
04
Give and Receive
On a Saturday in the spring, many of my friends will be spending time in their gardens—turning over dirt, adding in compost, nestling plants into the ground. It is all apart of the annual ritual to watch the miracle of something small and tender become hardy and fruitful. We nurture, it grows. We care for, …
May
03
Linger a Little
I have friends whose only daughter will marry this weekend. It is an exciting time for them to see the months of planning, the months of work and consideration come to fruition. Family and friends will gather from near and far and celebrate the big event. And isn’t that what these mile markers in life …