Be Present: Ten years from now, what will have mattered to our children?
Ten years from now . . . Remember: If it will have mattered in ten years, it matters now.Ten years from now, it won’t have mattered whether or not the sink was perfectly scrubbed. Ten years from now it will have mattered that I stopped scrubbing the sink to listen to a problem they were [...]
How To Be Patient: Rethinking Red Lights
When I was little, I used to love traffic signals. I loved the way they kept our car rides interesting by punctuating otherwise tedious trips with spontaneous, colorful light shows. I loved how they glowed at night like magical beacons in the darkness. I enjoyed the way they blinked and winked, like friendly robots that [...]
How to be Present to Beauty: A Memory
All I wanted was a little peace and quiet. A moment alone. I longed for the kind of happiness that a little self-imposed solitude might bring. And I had it all set up just as I had envisioned it: A cup of tea in my hands. A novel (enthusiastically recommended by a friend) sitting temptingly [...]
How To Be Relaxed: Don’t give in to “Prepositional Panic”
I suffer intermittently from a widely suffered yet rarely diagnosed syndrome. It’s called Prepositional Panic. I thought I might describe the symptoms to you so that in case you suffer from the same ailment, you might seek treatment for your symptoms. Those who suffer from Prepositional Panic might find that they suffer from a [...]
How To Be Curious: Do you know what’s in your neighbor’s garage?
A couple of weeks ago, my children and I were visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Ohio. In the afternoon of our second day, my two daughters and I decided we would go for a walk. As we wandered the unfamiliar landscape we passed house after house with garages. One-car garages. Two-car garages. It may [...]
How To Be Real: Be Present to Life’s Sweetness
I have a bad habit of knitting my brow when I am lost in thought. One day, a few years ago, I was sitting and watching my son playing Legos in the living room. I was gazing absently at his play, but my mind was lost in some tangled problem I was trying to [...]
Be Mindful: Do the dishes just to do the dishes
“Washing the dishes is at the same time a means and an end; that is, not only do we do the dishes in order to have clean dishes, we also do the dishes just to do the dishes, to live fully in each moment while washing them.” – Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh It was [...]
How To Be Transformative: Turn your troubles into treasure
Our troubles are like compost. From all outward appearances, they’re unsightly and smelly. We’d like to shove them away into a dark place where we’ll never have to look at them again. But just as compost will yield rich soil if we are willing to let it be — if we are willing to care [...]
How To Be Real: You don’t have to settle in Cynicsville
Imagine, if you will, two towns: Cynicsville and Pollyannatown. Two towns beset by troubles large and small. And yet the residents of these towns look at their troubles in decidedly different ways. The residents of Cynicsville feel they’ve seen it all. No matter what the turn of events – good or bad — they [...]
How To Be Lazy: Put “Do Nothing” on your to-do list
I have a hard time sitting down. I think it’s genetic. Really. James and I always chuckle when we remember a time when my mother had suffered a back injury (no, the injury was not the least bit funny, just the story that follows!). She had been told by her doctor in no uncertain terms [...]