Safe, Not Stuck: Embracing Lack of Change

As I ponder the start to the new year, at first, I feel sorry for myself. I make the foolish, painful mistake of comparing myself to others and focusing on what’s missing in my life instead of all the good things I have. It can be all too easy to go down this path.    […]

Being Happy with What Is

Recently, a friend gave me a book whose core message was to appreciate what we have, instead of always focusing on having more and being more. My first reaction: Pissed. The author is wealthy. Easy to be happy with what you have when you’re sitting on piles of dough. The writer goes on to say […]

Let Your Life Speak

I jogged to my local bookstore, toting a baked treat for the owner. At the door, I burst into tears. A small note by the “Closed” sign said she had just passed away. Yvonne was quirky, and brusque, and it smelled funny in there. But I loved that old woman. When I first hung out […]

Hope vs. False Expectations

What’s the difference between hope and false expectations? How do we know when to hope for the best and when we’re deluding ourselves? In each case, we’re throwing ourselves open to faith, to things we can’t control or predict. Is there such a thing as healthy and unhealthy hope, and if so, where’s the line?   On the one […]

A Bug Story

Emma. That’s what I decided to name the unusually large mosquito eater that was zooming around my house. Those bugs are creepy looking, like spindly daddy long legs with wings, but anything that eats the annoying, disease-carrying stingers that constantly welt my sweet skin is a friend of mine. I turned around from my computer […]

You Are What You Tweet

I’m a big fan of social media, but I must say, some of what’s out there seems like a bunch of meaningless malarkey.  Do I really want to hear about people’s delayed flights or whether or not they enjoyed their burrito?  Not really.  Not unless I’m the one picking them up at the airport or making […]