Hello again, my friends!  Here we are in 2021.  I find myself still pondering big and deep questions; I don’t have all the answers and yet want to keep sharing my insights and ponderings.  Last November, I developed a framework for what I describe as “levelling up” the human species.  I feel like it is crazy for me to be thinking and writing about this – who am I to be opining on this weighty topic…?  And yet, what if no one else is?  Or what if I have a few kernels of ideas that could make a difference and I don’t share them? So, here we are talking about…

Dear friends, I’ve missed you.  I’ve been busy doing lately and am realizing I need to invest more energy in being.  Apparently this is a lesson I need to keep learning.  😊.  As I get ready to wind down my year, I am struck by how good this year has been for me.  That must seem a crazy thing to say, in a year with coronavirus, stay-at-home orders, blatant racism being exposed in our country, widespread protests and (sadly) riots, the most divisive election this country has ever seen, and more.    I found myself this year, in the midst of all of these horrific events.  In the enforced stillness…

Dear friends, Have you ever had a moment where you learned something profound, in a blinding flash of the obvious?  It happened to me recently.  I had a day where I felt really stressed and overwhelmed.  One phone call or webinar after another and too many things on my to-do list.  I was supposed to lead a meditation for a friend the next day and I needed to actually write the meditation.  I almost contacted her to cancel it. But, I paused and asked myself, “what’s more important?”  I decided to make the time I needed to prepare the meditation.  So, to prepare myself, I did a meditation.  Then I…

Dear friends, I’ve had some powerful experiences over the last few months.  It feels like I’ve been peeling layers of reserve off myself so I can act on what’s truly in my heart.  This started with the Little Free Pantry and continued as I began taking food to homeless people and engaging them in conversation.  The latest step in my evolution was when I ordered a custom yard sign that says “What would love do?”  It’s going to live in my front yard for the foreseeable future.  Hopefully, it’s a way of influencing people to cut through the rancor in our country and access love for others and allow that…

Dear friends, I’ve written before about the idea of making the world a better place.  Someone recently asked me what this world would be like.  Drawing on parts of my personal vision statement, I said “I want to build a world where people are healthier, happier, and kinder to one another.”  And she probed deeper, asking, “How would things be if people were healthier, or happier, etc.?”  I could not answer immediately answer her and that meant I needed to do more thinking about it.  What I am going to share here right now is not perfect, complete, or polished.  It simply comes from my heart.  I LONG to live…

I was privileged to have a wonderful conversation this week with wise women friends.  We were discussing Service, specifically the question of how each of us is called to Serve at this moment in human evolution.  This is a weighty personal exploration and yet some of the discussion was more general about Service.  What it is and conditions under which it thrives or fails.  We read an article, which I think I’ve mentioned here before, Helping, Fixing or Serving by Rachel Naomi Remen, which was very helpful.  http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?sid=218 One definition of Service, from Merriam-Webster, is a “contribution to the welfare of others.”  Many writings about Service speak about selfless service.…

Dear friends, I find myself with a heavy heart and concern for the future of our country and our world.  How’s that for the opening sentence of a blog post about Hope?  This brand of Hope acknowledges reality, and so I have to face it.  I’m troubled by the condition our planet is in.  I’m troubled by the seemingly unending police attacks on Black Americans.  I’m troubled by the vigilantes with guns going to “keep the peace” at protests and ending up shooting people.  I’m troubled by “leaders” defending that behavior.  There are so many things that are concerning right now.  I won’t even try to enumerate all of them. …

Last week I wrote about the idea that each of us can actively engage to make the world better by embracing our personal Labor of Love.  I feel very strongly that the world is crying out for us, the human species, to do exactly that right now.  I also feel very strongly that by not actively engaging to change the world, we accept and choose THIS world.  Whatever you’re waiting for, more knowledge or skill, less stress in your life, or anything else, I urge you to let go of the need for perfect conditions before you start.  There will not be another, better time. You don’t need to be…

I recently posted on Facebook about a website I love and have mentioned here before, KarunaVirus.  I described how it is someone’s Labor of Love, a way that this organization and its volunteers build a more compassionate world.  People maintain the website, not because someone pays them to, but because it is how they build a better world.  This notion of having a Labor of Love has deep resonance for me.  The idea that each of us, if we want to live in a different world than what we see around us, can find a way to actively create that world.  We can each embrace and commit to our Labor…

Hello, friends!  One of my self-care non-negotiables is starting my day, every day, with a meditation.  Sometimes it’s a silent meditation, sometimes chanting along with one of my favorites on the Insight Timer App, and sometimes a guided meditation from Insight Timer.  Lately, a dear friend has been serving as my guinea pig as I learn to lead meditations.  That’s where a meditation I posted a few weeks back came from.  Today, I have my first ever truly original meditation creation to share with you.  It felt special as I wrote it, was special as my friend meditated to it, and feels special to share with you.    With so…