A Mindful Life

I lived intensely with the absence of his phenomenal existence for some time until I found his presence in a new way. –Jean Klein

In whatever country or culture we find ourselves, having a drink together is a sign of friendship, intimacy, and peace. Being thirsty is often not the main reason to drink. We drink to “break the ice,” to enter into a conversation, to show good intention, to express friendship and goodwill, to set the stage for [...]

This afternoon I was seated on my plush green sofa, laptop on my lap (of course), my fingers moving rapidly over the keys while thoughts flowed through their tips. The sun came out today — gloriously, robustly, cheerily — and as I wrote, it streamed through my living room window. From the corner of my [...]

The individual soul touches upon the world soul like a well reaches for the water table. That which sustains the universe beyond thought and language, and that which is at the core of us and struggles for expression, is the same thing. The finite within the infinite, the infinite within the finite. –Yann Martel, Life [...]

To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation. –Yann Martel, Life of Pi

It is yet another soggy day in Santa Clara, and as I sit in the kichen with my laptop, I hear a steady drum of water dripping from the gutters. This morning, before the rain began, my sleep was disturbed by what sounded like a jackhammer on the roof. Squirrels routinely forage for nuts from [...]

Gift-giving becomes so much more subtle as we age, often referencing a shared memory or simply a dear friendÂ’s insight into your personality that they have only been able to accumulate over the many years that theyÂ’ve known you. –Nicole, of Auspicious Coincidence

When we’re writing, I’m not sure that we think of the reader. It’s more that we pray not to lie, to get it right, so that if we’re writing about a tree, we get that tree and not a petrified log…. Every poem is a prayer against loneliness. When I write, there are two people: [...]

Oh, let me in, please! The can opener woos me. Moist morsels beckon! “Gracie At the Door” by Meryl Yourish ©2003 / Yourish.com

People tend to think of nonviolence as a choice between using force and doing nothing. But the real choice takes place at another level. Nonviolence is less a matter of “not killing” and more a matter of showing compassion, of saving and redeeming, of being a healing community. One can only choose between doing good [...]