The Shift

Writing in coffee shops is an interesting experience. Even though I am not there to listen in on conversations, in fact, I try to block them out, sometimes it can’t be helped. One Friday morning, I didn’t arrive early enough to get my usual by-myself-seat, so I ended up on the back bench waiting for [...]

Are you stuck in a story? Well, who isn’t? Sometimes we don’t care. If the story works well enough, let it be. But what happens when the story isn’t working for us anymore? Then we have a choice. Rewrite the story completely, or do just enough to be more comfortable. Sometimes we want to rewrite [...]

As we make no and yes lists, there is something that usually makes it onto the wrong list. On our no list, we may say, no to making mistakes. This is a mistake. Ha. See what I did there? Instead, we should put this on our yes list, yes to being okay with making mistakes. [...]

Sometimes to figure out what we want to say yes to, we have to first learn to say no. We can all look back on our lives and remember times when we wish we would’ve made different choices. When perhaps we should have said no, instead of yes, or yes instead of no. After a [...]

Throughout the years I have talked about the jail we put ourselves in because of our beliefs and perceptions. So when someone ticks me off because of what they are doing or saying—and lord only knows we have enough of that going on—and my righteous anger and upset wants to kick in and judge what [...]

Have you ever had a moment when something you’ve seen your entire life suddenly shifts—and you really see it? I’ve had more of those moments recently. Maybe because I have been looking for them, expecting them. But there is one that I remember clearly, and often return to when I need to remind myself how [...]

I imagined little monsters, fairies, and witches walking by my house wanting something from me, and I was terrified. So terrified that I huddled behind the couch in the dark. Even as I pressed myself into that hiding place, I knew I was being irrational. After all, it was just children out for their night [...]

We were sharing snail jokes over coffee. One of my favorites is “What would a snail say if she were riding on top of a turtle?” The answer I loved was “Wheeee!” But there’s another punchline to this joke. In this one, the snail says to the turtle, “Slow down, you lunkhead.” For a snail [...]

In a world fractured by division, where ugly lines separate us from one another, perhaps we need to look both backward and forward to find our way through. Here’s something worth remembering: In 1928, America erupted in controversy over the possibility of electing a Catholic president. Terrible things were said about Al Smith—the same kinds [...]

Just because a watermelon calls you, you don’t have to take it home. This is a crucial piece of information to know. And of course, I’m not talking just about watermelons. Come with me. I promise it will make sense. As long as I have been buying watermelons, I’ve bought them in a particular way. [...]

Have you ever stopped to think how often you’ve been protected and didn’t notice? Protection is something that happens so often we often don’t realize it. But, what about all the times we’ve tripped, almost pulled over into a car beside us, banged our head, walked into the street without looking, and were protected? Thinking [...]

This is the year of the chipmunks. Not sure why. Maybe there was a blackout one night, and all the chipmunks in our area spent the night making babies. For whatever reason, this year chipmunks had taken over our garden. Chipmunks are adorable. And destructive. Put the two together, and that means we trap them. [...]

I looked up and saw a miniature Native American chief in full dress walking on the edge of my deck. Okay. Not. But, for a minute my imagination took me there. And what I really saw was almost as astonishing as what I imagined. I have been reading the She Who Remembers book series by [...]

Mother’s Day is a day every one of us can celebrate, because everyone has had a mother. But it could be so much more than flowers, brunch, and cards.

We run three bird restaurants at our house. We placed them as close as possible to windows, so we always have a clear view of the endless stream of the many kinds of birds that come to dine. While I watch the birds through the window, I often carry on conversations with them, although probably [...]

One night I dreamed about a mouse. That’s all I remembered about the dream – a mouse telling me, “One thing at a time.” Del, with his years of nature and American Indian study, shared the meaning of mouse with me. It turns out that one thing at a time is exactly what a mouse [...]

It was the 1990’s and I had decided to return to being a CFP after spending some years trying other ways to make a living. After much soul searching, I decided it would be good for everyone if I returned to what I knew how to do well, for at least a few more years. [...]

Starting in my early teens, and lasting for the next 25 years or so, I collected words and saved them. I read the newspaper and clipped articles that moved me, ideas that opened my eyes, essays that inspired me, and pasted them all into a big journal type book. I read books, watched movies, went [...]