I’ve been in a rut lately. I imagine this is not something I have to describe but just in case there is someone reading who is new to this planet, I’ll elaborate so we are all on the same ratty-tatty page. It’s starts out as a groove. I’m doing a routine because it gets me … More Asking Questions When a Groove Becomes a Rut
When we celebrated our car turning 100,000 miles in December, we made the car a cake. After blowing out the candles, my seven-year-old daughter turned to ask me, “Are you going to be alive when this happens to me?” I stalled for time by asking if she was talking about getting her own car to … More The Next 100,000 Miles
Karma is one of the most known concepts of Buddhism and Hinduism. At the same time, it is also one of the least understood. You may hear people speaking about having a good or a bad Karma without really knowing what it is about. Those two main Eastern religions define Karma in the same way … More The True Meaning of Karma, How It Works and How It Helps You Improving Your Life
When I was a sorority girl in college, we all took turns on phone duty – answering the house phone lines, paging girls, or taking messages when calls came in. But in the January of 1989, it wasn’t just guys calling for dates, we had a lot of calls coming in from journalists who wanted … More Protecting the Impulse to Be Kind
We’ve been working hard to mold Wise & Shine into a community for readers and writers. This best of 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. Step 9, an audio play … More Best of November
Among the many stories my ex-husband told me of his precarious childhood, there is one that sticks out. He was five or six years old, living in Florida and his mom was dating the Hat Man, a man who wove and sold palm frond hats to tourists by the side of the road. One night … More The Power of Story
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
Last week I was driving in my car with my almost 7-year-old daughter at 8:29am when she said “Darn, I’m always a minute late for my favorite time.” She likes palindromic times – in this case 8:28. It made me think about what I’ve been working on lately. Life feels hectic – summertime means different … More The Quality versus Quantity of Time
Great writers are great readers. The more you read, the more you allow yourself to dive into a free-flowing headspace to unlock your inner creative genius. If you’re looking for encouraging books for writers, here’s a handpicked list I’ve crafted that has helped me keep the apathetic idling—what some call writer’s block—at bay. That’s if … More Books for Writers: 6 books every writer should read this summer
My 6-year-old daughter mentioned that her uncle (my brother) told her about someone who could hold his breath underwater for 22 minutes. Thinking her young sense of time must be off, I checked in with my brother. Turns out she was right – 22 minutes. Breathing is an autonomic system function. We don’t have to … More Breathe, Just Breathe
My kids have been watching a lot of Superman at my house. I’m talking about the 1978 movie with Christopher Reeve, Magot Kidder and Gene Hackman. I love it because it brings me back to when I was 9-years-old and saw it the first time. Back when they did all the credits at the beginning … More The Superhero In Us All
“Enjoy this time, it goes so fast” is the single most repeated piece of parenting advice that I’ve heard since having kids. Since I chose to become a single mom at an older age than my friends, having my kids at age 46 and 50, I hear it from my peers not just the older … More A Piece of Advice
I was talking with some friends the other day about the movie Free Solo. One of my friends breezily remarked that Alex Honnold was crazy for climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a nearly 3,000 foot ascent without ropes, anchors or any other protective gear. Before I watched the movie, I would have agreed. … More Scaling the Walls of Our Dreams
I recently bought my 6-year-old daughter day of the week socks. When I wrote a post on my personal blog about the system she spent an hour making to store them in a labeled shoe box, I loved the education I got in the comments. We spend a lot of time dreaming up systems to … More A Systematic Approach
We have a family story that has always fascinated me. When I was in my 20’s, my dad’s mom, Nana, told me the story of my dad’s first two years and how she prayed for his life. Following his birth, my dad contracted dysentery at the hospital and was sickly for two years, eventually resulting … More Talking with a Higher Power
This last weekend, I was out listening to live music for the first time in two years and suddenly the people, the place and the context overran me with a sublime feeling of community. I was with my brother and his wife and because the lead singer of the blue grass group we were listening … More Community
Shortly after I returned from Everest Base Camp in 2001, I went with my dad to hear Beck Weathers speak. Anyone that has read Jon Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air or any of the other books about the 1996 disaster on Everest, is probably familiar with his story. Here’s my abridged version: Beck was a … More The Power of Stories
A few months ago, my daughter and her best friend were doing an art project at my dining room table. My 6-year-old daughter announced that she didn’t like the color brown. And her best friend took offense at that because she is brown. I identify as heterosexual, white female. I am so unambiguous about that … More The Gift of Empathy
At a meditation retreat I attended a few years ago, the leader off-handedly told a story about a moment when she was doing a large group meditation practice with the renowned meditation teacher Jack Kornfield. The six of us sitting around laughed politely at her description of 500 people doing a slow walking meditation practice … More The Best Kept Secrets are Boring
My kids and I are in quarantine. Hearing about this, a friend left a bag with flowers, soup, mac ‘n cheese, herbal tea, chocolate bars and most importantly, a project for each child on the porch. She didn’t ask what we needed because I would have said “nothing. We are fine. But receiving her offering … More Acts of Kindness