Stillness

The fool thinks peace comes 
by controlling the mind.
 He will never attain it.
 The wise one knows Truth, 
and is stillness itself. – Buddhist Sage Astavakra In the stillness of your presence, you can feel your own formless and timeless reality as the unmanifested life that animates your physical form. You can then feel the same life deep within every other human and every other creature. You look beyond the veil of form and separation. This is the realization of oneness. This is love. Eckhart Tolle …Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?  Who can remain still until the moment of action?  Observers of the Tao do not seek fullfilment.  Lao-Tzu  Tao te Ching, Verse 15 Be still, and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10 Stillness, or …

Father’s Day is Here Again

To the Family Fathers… I come from a tradition of involved fathers. It was my dad who sat huddled in a chair by my bed when my sore throats or earaches kept me awake at night. (Read more here.) It was my husband who went to the baby who cried in the night. As each […]

Graduation 2020 – Leap!

  Congratulations, my dear Grandson. I think often about our conversation in January when you expressed your feelings about your coming graduation. Comme ci, comme ça. You were glad to have everyone gathering in celebration, but the event itself dd not seem important to you. Interesting how life turns us around, things that seem not […]

Your Day is Here!

Congratulations, Years of hard work and you come away with the grand prize –  a degree and a job! Kudos to you! And even though you are focused and dedicated, I know it hasn’t all been easy. You have worked hard and studied hard. You have proven yourself more than worthy of all you have […]

Stillness

The fool thinks peace comes 
by controlling the mind.
 He will never attain it.
 The wise one knows Truth, 
and is stillness itself. – Buddhist Sage Astavakra In the stillness of your presence, you can feel your own formless and timeless reality as the unmanifested life that animates your physical form. You can then feel […]

Being Heard

“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.” ― Stephen R. Covey Perspective is an interesting thing. I wrote a post several years ago about feeling invisible.  When I look at the world I realize that I don’t know the depths x breadth of destruction from not being heard. *** From my […]

Certainty

Life was simpler when I was sure. I was imbued with a staunch confidence from which I spouted my opinions and discounted those of anyone who disagreed with me.  Sadly, I have a quick mind and a sharp tongue, so I took some pride in leveling my opponents. So life was simpler, perhaps, but not […]

Welcome to My World of Letters

Many of you are looking for a specific letter for ideas to help you write to someone you love. You are welcome to take what you need from this site for your personal use. But here’s the deal. You can do it yourself.  Go to the top of the main blog page or click here […]

Sixteen – Life is Sweet!

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ― Mary Oliver I give you this quote and immediately tell you not to worry too much about what you will do. At sixteen, your opportunities are like a huge walk-in closet. When you are wondering what to wear, […]

Family Secrets

I don’t believe in family secrets.  They cause undue stress, give nasty surprises and keep us from learning lessons that we could all share. Yet it’s difficult to know how deal with when they are brought into the light.  Do they require action?  Are we to be involved?  If there are differences, are we to […]

Honesty and Aging

“Our entire life … consists ultimately in accepting ourselves as we are.”― Jean Anouih My friends and I are giving each other a gift that I wish we had known enough – and been brave enough – to give earlier. We are giving the gift of honesty. Because the older we get, the more we […]

My Self and Beauty

“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.” – Plato I have heard variations of Plato‘s philosophy throughout my life. It resonated somewhat, but not deeply. I am a work in progress. I understand the different people like different things. And there’s no denying that parents who think newborns are beautiful are somewhat biased. But, […]

Juneteenth

When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. Audre Lorde I been ignorant…but I’m studying and learning. And today I am celebrating Black Women who matter – a lot!