We are here to create, to love, to learn, to grow, to share our gifts, and, very importantly, to experience joy. It’s not about getting to point B but “the journey,” as they say—and it sounds like a lie. But it is truer than we realize. What is point B anyway but number two in a long line of even more things? Yrsa Daley-Ward The How I’m a consistent re-reader of books that move me. I purposefully don’t have a lot of books in our home because I only keep those I know I’ll re-read multiple times. I have a system: I check out a book from the library, and…
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(re)Discover a candle to start an inferno
I looked around to take in the moment, to gather my wits about me and to recognize the enormity of what had just happened. I looked ahead to the field of trees that enclosed the beautiful French-style farmhouse where I was living, and I started moving toward it again.
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What are you chasing?
I'm of an age where I had a distinct life pre-Internet and social media. I've been on Facebook for 13 years, and that was simply because my son wanted to join. I felt like I needed the ability to monitor some of what he was doing and seeing there. I hesitantly dipped my toe in, and somewhere between that day and today, I've been fully submerged, to the point of drowning, in the tsunami that is social media.
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Four months, four massive projects and YOU
Over the course of the summer, we've nearly transformed the entirety of our house. The external changes are dramatic, useful and truly beautiful. The unseen work: ensuring we don't burn the house down, for example, is equally important but will never get the true recognition it deserves because what we didn't know and couldn't see wasn't there before is still true of what is there now.
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And what else?
What would your life look like if you got really, truly curious about it?
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Who do you think you are?
Struck by the perfection of the scene, I grabbed my phone and took one photo. Flowers from last night's dinner guests, a mug from a dear friend filled with Barry's Irish tea, my paper calendar, my all in one journal, scheduler and dream keeper, and the sun streaming in to bless it all.
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There she is…
I'm not "cured" because I don't know that we're ever cured of the traumas, big T or little t, that we encounter in our navigation of life, but I'm feeling much better about having opened the door and faced my fears. I know I have other things to uncover and work through, but it will never again be as scary as the first time. And I will never again enter in afraid that my problems are beyond fixing.
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When in doubt, embrace the stuck bits
After getting over my disappointment, I decided to serve the cake as I had planned it, and it was imperfectly perfect. Nobody complained that parts of the top were missing because the central point of the cake was in tact—the taste was glorious, and the ice cream and berries covered a lot of the missing sections. Its imperfections and ugly edges were irrelevant in the final presentation.
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The bark of perfection aka looks can be deceiving
When Dr Marry was at the height of his drinking, I told no one. The darker the interior rings got, the harder I worked to maintain a healthy exterior because I was terrified of my reality being found out, of being deemed rotten and cut down.
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Getting from here to there
I was a big fan of Sesame Street when I was little; I still am. It’s uncanny how often a snippet from 45-years ago will cross my memory or be relevant to a conversation I’m having. For instance, do you remember this song, “How Do You Get From Here to There?” There’s a great lesson in this song, in addition to how cute it is (minus the airplane guy who looks a bit too much like if Hitler had been part of the beatnik era). The lesson is actually profoundly simple and so, so valuable. First, determine where you want to go, and then second, choose how you’re going to…
