Create the life you want.

What do documentaries on lost civilizations, commentary on current national and global politics and taking an art appreciation class at the local community college have in common with what to do with your leftovers? You might ask. I’m decent cook but for most of my life, I just hated having to deal with leftovers. They never – to me at least – tasted as good as fresh. I always wanted something new, something freshly prepared, something of the moment. I’ve mellowed. I misu

Hi! Have you heard about this amazing technology everyone’s talking about? It’s called H.I. (pronounced hī (-ē)) and it can do just about anything from harness the power of fire to send probes into outer outer outer space! But that’s not all, not by a long shot. HI can provide all the basic needs of food and shelter any human needs in any environment on the planet. It can create safe spaces to live, foster community, connection and a sense of belonging. HI builds confidence a

In Qigong class today, we did an exercise where you begin with your arms at your sides and you lift them slowly, extended in front of you, leading with the back of your hands as you inhale. When you reach the limit of your extension, you turn your hands forward, slowly float your arms down, leading with the heel of your hand as you exhale. That’s it. Simple. I am sure it has a name and I am sure there are many variations and builds on the movement but that doesn’t matter beca

I was watching a documentary about Celts living in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain before Roman soldiers arrived and conquered in 137. So, think ancient Rome. Hadrian’s wall. And a fairly simple subsistence-based existence. But I was caught by surprise when I heard the narrator explain a little about the way these people of nearly 2,000 years ago made their living. Made their living. When I hear that, my first thought actually is to wonder how much money someone make

The sun is rising later. Six-thirty this morning. In another month or so, on Halloween, it will rise close to an hour later. That's late. This is why I like falling back, as it's often phrased. When we turn the clocks back, in early November, and move that hour of daylight from the end of the day to the beginning. I prefer to rise with the sunlight. I stay up hours after the sun's gone down all year long, so, yes. Give me back that hour in the morning, thank you. School's ope

I might be reading a book. I might be grilling hot dogs. I might be taking a walk. Or I might be doing the hokey pokey. Whatever I'm doing, I am having fun. I wish you the same. Have a very happy Labor Day. I will return next week.

I’ve been thinking about blame lately and what it means. Why do we have this word? We have other words, in fact words we use to define blame. To accuse. To find fault. But those words feel less personal. I may accuse you of squeezing the toothpaste tube in the middle. Or I may find fault with the way you left my driver’s seat and rear view mirror in a different position. Those seem more like facts to me. But I might blame you if too much toothpaste squirts out or if I can’t p

I went to a museum today. Seeing beautiful things is restorative. Last week, I visited the summer camp where I volunteered for 20 years. It was boisterous, noisy, busy – and restorative. For me, sitting on an Atlantic beach, listening to the sounds of waves coming and going is restorative. So is sitting in my back yard, or the woods. Reading a book. Stirring sauce. Taking time. Being quiet. Laughing with people I love. All restorative. To restore is “to bring back or to put b

I'm revisiting a post from two years ago because I've been thinking -- again -- about this zero-sum mentality that pervades our lives. Zero-sum means if I gain, you lose. If you gain, I lose. It means there's only so much. It's a mindset that falsely limits us and pits us against each other. I see it everywhere and it saddens me because it's a snare. For all the times I've written about choice -- and they are many -- I neglected to emphasize the "and" in the process. When we

By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be sitting on a two-mile long, sandy beach in beautiful Cape Ann, Massachusetts, warming in the sun, relaxing with a good book and, every once in a while, looking up at a perfectly blue, sunny summer sky with some white puffy clouds blowing gently by. With that in mind, I offer you a selection of thoughts to contemplate as gently as if they were fair weather clouds floating above your perfect afternoon when you are carefree and have all t