Wynne Leon is an optimist, an enthusiast of endurance sports and a woman intent in charting her own path. Which is a combination that has led to an unconventional life. When she was younger a life of adventure meant climbing mountains, traveling the world and being an entrepreneur. More recently, it’s been starting a family as a single parent at age 46, having another child at age 50 and adopting a highly-strung kitten, even though she really is a dog person. Her writing projects include technical computer manuals, articles about meditation and parenting, and Finding My Father’s Faith, a memoir about spirituality, solace and her relationship with her beloved father.
The other day I clicked through to the blog of someone that had commented and read their latest post. It was interesting and well-written but I wasn’t sure how to take it. Was it intended to be a little humorous or totally serious? It reminded me of the importance of the about me section of … More About Me
We’ve been working hard to mold Wise & Shine into a community for readers and writers. This summary post is intended to provide a peek into the collaborative efforts and other content you may have missed. Please sign up for the newsletter to get information on content and contests. Don’t Miss These Posts Work and … More Month In Review
I’m going to do something risky here. First, revisit a topic that my brilliant colleague Jack Canfora recently covered inspirationally and beautifully in Why Sports Help Me. And secondly do something I’m not qualified to do by giving a sports recap. But as Wise and Shine is a community of writers and readers, I’m thinking … More Why Sports Make Me Feel Alive
As Troy mentioned in his Projects and Podcasts post, we have been working on creating a podcast to compliment the content on Wise & Shine. Troy and Cristiana sat down to have a great conversation: On Home & Place and it is our first published podcast. Music by Todd Fulginiti. Available on Spotify: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/01mMqHMxRtb Please … More The First Wise & Shine Podcast
The other day I made a comment off-handedly and the recipient said, “Oh, that’s so nice.” I didn’t like that compliment. Yes, I realize it’s not nice of me to judge a comment about being nice. Upon reflection, it’s because I don’t like the sound of me when I’m doing nice. And believe me, as … More Don’t Call Me Nice…Please
I was traveling last week, something I haven’t done without my kids in 7 years. I’d perfectly engineered the school drop-off and transfer to the nanny, filled the fridge with food, done all the laundry, and even unloaded the dishwasher. I thought I had everything well in-hand. But then I got to the airport and … More The Glass Is Refillable
A couple of weeks ago, I took both my kids to the doctor’s office. When it came time for the flu shots, the tech asked me to pick which child should go first. I picked my 3-year-old son. He reacted with an “ouch” and then was on to the next thing. My 7-year-old daughter went … More Do You Listen To Your Pain?
In March 2020 when Seattle went into lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, my 4-year-old daughter and I were scheduled to go to a show at the puppet theater. The theater company founder and director was a Seattle fixture who had been delighting families with shows for over 30 years with her troupe of … More Adding Innovation to Grand Theatrical Tradition
More than 10 years after the fact, I can tell the story of my marriage/divorce with succinct clarity. I got married to my husband when I was 33-years-old. He had been married before and told me that he was divorced because wife #1 had a jealousy problem. In the marriage, I thought he just wanted … More Romancing the Stone
The other night my seven-year-old was being short-tempered with her younger brother and snippy with me. I asked her not to take out her mood on others and she replied “I don’t know what to do with the meanness!” Huh. Isn’t that a great question? I was raised in a household that believed “If you … More What To Do With Our Inner Meanness
When my inquisitive daughter was about 3 ½ years old, we had a conversation about perspective. We looked out our back door at the houses around and I asked her to count how many she could see. Three. Then we went to the second floor and I helped her count – seven. And then we … More Expansiveness
My 7-year-old daughter asked me the other day, “You know how I want to be a teenager?” After a pause for me to nod my head she asked, “Do teenagers want to be kids?” I explained that teenagers want to be adults. This is just the latest of her big questions: Where will I go … More Waiting for the Big Answers
As I was writing my post last week, Good Mood of the Soul, I came across the research that joy and gratitude often result in an upward spiral. The more we focus on gratitude, the easier it is to perceive joy. And when in the midst of joy, we are more open to gratitude. So … More Upward Spirals
The other day my 6-year-old daughter asked me “What is a hero?” As I stumbled through the words to describe someone who is admirable and inspires us to be better, I wondered if the idea of having heroes resonates as much in our world. Sometimes it feels like we know too much about our public … More Holding Out for a Hero