The Thanksgiving Holiday in America is one of extended families coming together for dinner in the spirit of gratitude. Most families spread the table with the classic dishes of turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pumpkin pie. For many holiday celebrations in my childhood, we walked across the backyard canopy of mango and …Read More
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Field Guide to the Apocalypse ~ Athena Aktipis
“It’s the end of the world as we know it…” ~ Beetles “Stop freaking out. Do this instead,” says Athena Aktipis, the psychologist who wrote “A Field Guide to the Apocalypse.” Inside the book, you’ll find advice (with singalongs) for stressful times. Rather than promoting paranoia or isolationism, Aktipis encourages embracing uncertainty—forming “survival teams,” practicing …Read More
For One Who Is Exhausted ~ John O’Donohue
For One Who Is Exhausted~ by John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,Time takes on the strain until it breaks;Then all the unattended stress falls inOn the mind like an endless, increasing weight. The light in the mind becomes dim.Things you could …Read More
Art Comes Alive ~ “Can’t Help Myself”
Art imitates life. In that imitation, we see ourselves and what it means to be human. Art is a medium to tell a story–emotions of joy or pain, the experience of the beautiful, inspiration or frustration, trapped in limiting beliefs or opened to an infinity of choices, … the possibilities seem endless. In that expression …Read More
Finding Your Sacred Mission
Companies have mission statements to inspire them. What’s your personal mission? The mission statement is short and powerful, like a north star that you can return to over and over to inspire and guide you. By holding a mission statement in your mind and heart, you can live fully in the present moment and create …Read More
300 Years of Classical Music
Imagine a world without music. Today, music is everywhere. With our personal devices and headphones, we can walk around in our own personal soundscape. However, in the memories of some of those alive today, music was something heard only in live performance. I imagine the wonder of hearing the beautiful voice of the violin for …Read More
After My Mother Died ~ Joel Ying
The year after my mother diedWas filled with angerSleepless nightsGetting upAnd walking through my dayWhere the best and worst thingThat I could do was forgetEven for a momentThe second year after my mother diedWas filled with angerAnd joyThinking ofThe way that she would laugh beforeHer own punchlinesCross her legs and say“I have to pee!”And laugh …Read More
Johari Window
In 1955, psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham created a technique to better understand ourselves and improve communication with others. They named the model the “Johari Window” as a combination of their names. The four quadrants represent the four parts of ourselves: When we start off in a new community (for example, a new job …Read More
Rum Cake ~ You Never Listen
My parents baked Jamaican Black Rum Cake every year as gifts for friends and family at Christmas. The fruits–raisins, currants, prunes, cherries, citrus, and more–were minced and soaked in rum and wine from the previous year. I helped out in the kitchen–assisting, watching, and learning. My mom would ask my dad how much of an …Read More
Aikido of Love ~ Terry Dobson
In July, I went to the 2025 National Storytelling Network Conference. Workshops spanned various topics of oral storytelling from crafting to coaching to applying storytelling principles. Elisa Pearmain gave a workshop on “Listening to Our Anger–Acting Out of Love.” Among the activities, she told an oral version of “Aikido of Love,” a story written by …Read More