A Mindful Life

At least ten years ago my mother gave me a magnetic notepaper holder to hang on my refrigerator. It had a delicate angel and rainbow picture, with a saying about love on it. For a long time I’ve realized it doesn’t appeal to me anymore. Lately my hands have been feeling restless and unsettled. Tonight [...]

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. This insight into the mystery of [...]

I happened across a post on Deepak Chopra’s website where someone asked why we are given the parents we have. Putting aside the knowledge that the question “why” is a sticky, tangly, distracting web, (it doesn’t really free a person, it simply looks for a place to park blame — on oneself or another — [...]

In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time. –Leonardo da Vinci Big Sur River, CA

There’s a hazardous sadness to the first sounds of someone else’s work in the morning; it’s as if stillness experiences the pain of being broken. The first minute of the workday reminds you of all the other minutes that a day consists of, and it’s never a good thing to think of minutes as invidivuals. [...]

To sit without emotion, hope or aim, In the loved presence of my cottage fire, And listen to the flapping of the flame, Or kettle whispering its faint under song. –William Wordsworth

As Claire grew out of infancy and toddlerhood, it became evident that her rich imagination generated all sorts of stories with many plots. Our playtime changed. Claire has found it difficult to “share the story,” to play with. It isn’t really parallel play either (which is normal for the age). Instead, her play partner has [...]

True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. –William Penn Dawn on Kala Point, Washington

Below is the description of the Harper Family’s donation to the Wilson preschool fundraiser. More information about this is coming, including other prizes and ticket availability. I’m just sharing this in case you’d like to buy tickets when available ($1.00 each). Zen Life Kit There’s a lot of talk about Zen these days, but not [...]

As Claire gets older and encounters the world, I find myself thinking that I need an exorcism of my past. That sounds drastic, yes? Claire displays an intensity and sensitivity that I recognize. I observe how she interacts with kids at school, and I feel painful echoes. I want so much not to project my [...]