When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)? What is a grown-up anyway? There have been a number of moments in life when I imagined I was finally grown up. I was certain when I hit some self-created marker that this was adulthood. For an instant in my mind, … Continue reading The Growing-Up Project
What's a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind? The question from the prompt is really, "Have you changed your opinion about anything?" What a question! Am I alive? Well then, my opinions1 about everything are constantly in flux no matter what I tell myself. Opinions Change, Sometimes Often Opinions. "Has my opinion … Continue reading A Transformed Mind
Tell us about a time when you felt out of place. I arrived for my first day of the first-grade. Ms. Key was my teacher. I did not know her; I did not know anyone in my class. I did not like riding the bus. I did not like much that day. Thus, I began … Continue reading Not My Place, Not My People
In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled? Admittedly, my first inclination was to interpret this as physical labor; physical labor is hard work. After reflecting, I am willing to see hard work includes any work in which someone can fully engage themselves. Practice makes the work easier but any work might be … Continue reading Working Hard
List three jobs you'd consider pursuing if money didn't matter. Money has never been the goal of my work life. Sure, I wanted enough to live and provide for the significant people in my life. I currently do the same work I have done for just shy of 38 years. The work I chose and … Continue reading Money Matters?
There is something beautiful and pristine about the pre-dawn morning. I sit in the silence of this space, hearing sounds that are drown during louder parts of the day. My heartbeat is louder, more easily identified. The day is beginning and I feel unrushed which is a feeling unlike much of the rest of the … Continue reading Sunday Musings
I find it meaningful to begin my day in gratitude. So I have a gratitude practice. Gratitude Practice (summarized) Open my journal. Close my eyes and “breathe myself here.” Open my eyes and say, “I am thankful for…” Write name by name what arises from that statement. When I reach a “stopping point,” repeat out … Continue reading Joy of Being Thankful
What's your favorite time of day? I have a weekly habit of arising at 5:00AM on Sundays, in the pre-dawn hours. There is something about how the Silence envelopes me at the time that brings an inner peace. I was not a morning person at all most of my life. I rose early only occasionally … Continue reading Deep Silence before Dawn
My title really should read something more like, “I used to practice for life as if life and practice were separate instances.” I have an everyday practice: meditation, journaling, reading, listening. I come to my space and sit. This sitting sets an intention for the day, an intention to inhale and exhale, to receive and … Continue reading Practicing for life
What motivates you? I suppose there are any number of ways to answer this question. As a younger person, I was motivated by fear: of failure, of being unloved and unappreciated, of not-fitting-in, of mediocrity, of dying unknown. It is amazing what an unrelenting motivator fear was; it never let up and created stress, anxiety, … Continue reading Living My Mission
Infinitely Precious 