New Year. For Real
Now that the confetti and pine needles have been cleared… Now that the flurry of holidays and celebrations seems long ago… Now that all those good intentions and certain promises no longer compel or inspire… Now what? I love the momentum of a new calendar page or ritual to inspire the changes I know I should…
Rollercoasters and the Lake
I had two books come out this week. To say it’s been a wild ride should win some sort of award as understatement of the millennium. A couple of my early reviewers mentioned that it was like a roller coaster ride. I liked it, considering that was exactly the effect I was trying to…
The Same. And Different.
I uttered two words yesterday that startled me as they came out of my mouth. “Bundle up.” The temperatures have dropped enough that I needed to suggest an extra layer on an afternoon walk. Sure, that layer was only a light sweatshirt. And it’s still sunny and bright and beautiful. (Which is infinitely…
Slippery Walls and a Comfy Seat
Sometimes it feels as if I am at the bottom of a well with slippery walls. It’s rarely as bad as it sounds. Or bad at all. My writer’s cave feels like this, a combination of must and should and just can’t not. I love being in it. So much so that I…
Chasing Rainbows
It was a typical day in the Pacific Northwest: overcast with spots of rain throughout the day. On the long scenic drive from one of my honey’s favorite annual rituals (an oyster festival) we were enticed with several stunning rainbows. There are few things that fill me with more child-like glee than rainbows. The…
Feedback. And Vomiting.
Feedback can be a lot like vomiting. That image comes to me as my days fill with critique, both giving and receiving. I’m helping several people with their artistic works in progress as well as working with responses on my own project. I had to tell one person that it felt like she…
Your Check Engine Light Is On
Even the most rudimentary, single-celled organism has the ability to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Why, then, are we – as complex beings with consciousness and choice – taught that the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain are the root of all suffering? After decades of asking, and searching, I still…
The Price
I’ve been creating a series of novels with a recurring theme: the price of the life we desire. (You can get yourself a chapter right here.) They explore relationships, career choices, and feeling right in your own skin. It’s a theme that has woven through nearly every choice I’ve made in my adult life. [In…
Snowglobe of the Mind
“Each one of us is called to become that great song that comes out of the silence, and the more we let ourselves down into that great silence the more we become capable of singing that great song.” –David Steindl-Rast Imagine you have a snow globe in your pocket. Going through your day, it…
The Library of Guiding Principles
“To be well informed, one must read quickly a great number of merely instructive books. To be cultivated, one must read slowly and with a lingering appreciation the comparatively few books that have been written by men who lived, thought, and felt with style.” — Aldous Huxley Do you like books? I sure do.…