A Mindful Life

I have a list of the little things I plan to write about that Claire is doing, but it’s late and I’m wiped out. She is a busy, busy child! So loving and cheerful too (most of the time). So here is a video to provide a glimpse until I have the energy to write. [...]

Since my stove-top is compromised (one burner can’t be used) and I don’t want to heat up the oven in the summer anyway, I bought a new crock pot. I haven’t used crock pots much because the recipes often call for different sizes; I had only one, and it seemed impractical to have more than [...]

You know you are in California when: Your coworker has 8 body piercings and none are visible. You make over $250,000 and still can’t afford a house. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English. Your child’s 3rd grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and [...]

I’ve been sitting daily for 20 minutes, and I’m amazed how frenetic my thoughts are. They are faster and more erratic than any toddler. I sit, eyes half open, aware of the breath in my nostrils and counting, and all the while it sounds like a cocktail party in my head: Boy, I can’t believe [...]

Well, we were going to make an offer on the house today, and as of yesterday there were supposedly no offers (we went to see it last evening), but today we learned there were four offers and one was accepted. The accepted offer was the asking price. We were going to offer less, so we [...]

The last few days, my joints have ached, particularly in my forearms and hands. They feel stiff and painful to move. This morning, I woke up with completely numb hands. It took about 30 minutes before they were fully mobile. My initial reaction was, “WTF??!!” Whatever the cause or problem, this will affect my writing [...]

Life is prodding me to stay present and not borrow trouble in the future. This is a discipline, one that requires traipsing after my thoughts like I do after my toddler. The microwave broke again, despite our being careful not to use the front burner to cook steamy things (which apparently caused the circuits to [...]

After nap, I went out with Claire to run an errand, and I found myself driving past the Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale. I’d heard of them a couple years ago but never pursued actually locating the center. I’d also been on a mailing list for another Zen center in Mountain View, but I [...]

Although today is cloudy and rainy, I’m energized and in a better mood. This morning I went to a friend’s home for a play date and we had a great visit. A little later another friend came with her daughter, and our three daughters played together while we adults got to catch up. It had [...]