It was not what I expected — In 2001, I met a man that my heart instantly recognized as the man I had been looking for my whole life. I was interviewing him for an article I was writing. He was the trails manager at a prestigious public garden. When I walked down the path to his…

I’m exhausted from 2022. I’m gonna need a minute. — New Year, New You. Break through your resistance. Rock your goals. Beat yourself into submission and become all you should have been all along but are too lazy/complacent/stupid/clueless to find your way there. This is the year! You can do it! Finally!!!! (Cue the throw-up emoji. And the eye-roll emoji.) …

It continues to bring light and joy throughout January — Just last week, we finally took our tree down. We never take it down before the first week of January, and sometimes beyond. I am always so sad to see it go, so we have come up with a way to keep the joy and light going a little longer…

I have quite a few that I don’t want to live without — I have been a practicing Buddhist (emphasis on practicing) for over a decade, and one of the things that I know from the teachings, and my own experience, is that attachment can lead to suffering. But when it comes to some of the things that make my life smoother, more…

A Weeds and Wildflowers Prompt — I am 6 years old and bobbing in the ocean, hopping from one foot to the other while I watch my daddy float. He floats for a long time, and I get impatient. …

I am ready to let go of this burden — The past is a vast wilderness. If you spend too much time there you will find yourself hopelessly lost from your current life. The landscape is unchanging and unchangeable. It will always be the same, no matter how many times you go back there. Yet, I have been drawn to…

Sometimes you just need to step outside and remember what matters — “Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” John Muir Here in upstate South Carolina, we have been having a rainy winter. While the rain is a welcome respite from…

Buying new things is how I clean out closets — One of my favorite children’s books is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. It is a brilliant commentary on how one thing leads to another and it isn’t always logical. …

Even though it’s usually just the two of us — The strains of Christmas carols pour like silk out of the stereo. My husband is on a ladder stringing lights on our tree. This year we outdid ourselves and bought the biggest tree we’ve ever had. It is fully nine feet tall but is narrow enough to fit in our…