- @Pegeen
LOVELOVELOVE this! Yes, doing what you love and loving what you do energizes you and gives you more time. Creativity in any form is like a jumpstart to your internal battery. It doesn’t suck the life out of you, it gives you more life, more vitality, more of yourSELF! Then you can give that overflowing energy to everyone you meet.
I love a clean, organized, artful home free of excess accumulation. Therefore, I am a tosser who reevaluates her possessions each season to see what stays, what leaves. If the item is in good shape, I happily donate, if not, it goes in the garbage. This keeps me in flow with my environment and never overwhelmed by any cleaning. Cleaning for me is a form of letting go, making room and appreciating that which I have.
Such an excellent article. I find that I use this formula at different stages of my life because as we age, we change and things that used to work, no longer fit. And I do love the process of reevaluation, of change, of growing/expanding.
Great interview and witty analogy in the last paragraph. Look forward to The Piano Lesson.
Wow, one of the most powerful and impactful articles I have read in a very long time. Just absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this!
So many studies out there that prove a gratitude practice changes your brain chemistry. Another practice I love is The Heart Brain Coherence Meditation. It takes only 7 minutes and always brings me to tears, which is a sign that I’m in my heart space. Then the gratitude/love pours in and I give it all back out to whom ever I choose to focus on. Usually specific family and friends, then more expansive, to humanity and our beautiful Mother Earth.
People pleasing, perfectionism and feeling not enough - may it stop now with all the fabulous programs out there for women. Don’t ever give your power away to some asinine ideal. There is nothing more beautiful than a woman who knows and feels her worth at all stages of life. Our thoughts create our reality, choose them wisely, speak them with utter consciousness and confidence. Go out and BE the role model!
Very excited about this list! Wanted to post in case anyone else cares to explore the Truth - a rare commodity today! Rabbi Rami has a column in the magazine Spirituality and Health. It’s like a spiritual Dear Abbey and I have always enjoyed his insightful comments and also his sense of humor.
Love number 4 - that is a profound way to live if you really practice it. I have a small practice that when I go on a very familiar walk/drive, to really search for something different. It makes me more present, focused and open. The same with grocery shopping - come away with a new product/food to try. It makes me slow down, become more curious and excited at the possibilities. Small moments matter, especially when you add gratitude.
Really great insights from one who knows. A very worthy read. A book to keep on your night stand in times of fear and uncertainty.
This is another incredible, inspiring story from a Holocaust survivor. “We became more sensitive - more understanding- because we learned what a human being is capable of.” Truly remarkable. A miracle.
I hope Conan hits it out of the park. I love his podcast. It makes me laugh out loud and that’s awesome when I’m stranded in traffic or cooking. Laughter IS medicine.
Love this! Perhaps because I do still love talking on the phone in a world that prefers texting. Recently my neice called on her way to the Pocono’s from NYC. We hadn’t talked in a while and we shared our lives and laughter for the duration of that trip - 2 hours! It can seem like a really good visit despite not actually seeing the person because a voice has the essence and character to create the physical presence. I prefer in person but the phone is second best.
Important read. Like any movement towards change and equality, it’s slow going. And if not continued, backsliding happens.
Love this! Great suggestions and inspiring!
I saw Nosferatu about 45 years ago at an art house theater and was both transfixed and terrified. His presence was very powerful, commanding. The fact that the film was silent and in black and white added to the characters mystic.
What a train wreck. Unfortunately, Martha Stewart always came across, to me, like a cold perfectionist, so no surprises here. However, it would be awesome if she found light at the end of the tunnel. Snoop Dog to the rescue!
I agree in the old adage that laughter is medicine. I feel that within my entire body when laughing with friends, family or listening to the Conan O'Brien Need’s a Friend podcast. I need it on a daily basis especially during these incredibly challenging times in our planet’s history.
Focus and discipline are paramount in visualizing. The mind learns through repetition, so the visualizing must be daily over a period of time, some believe at least a month. Sounds easy but consistency is difficult because priorities can easily get shuffled in a busy life. Studying to be a neurologist must have been insane. What Bannister accomplished is remarkable. I am wildly impressed and inspired.
This is so tragic and disappointing. An example of how money, power and ego is the road to corruption and dictatorship.
These personal stories of loneliness are so powerful. They offer one a perspective and an opportunity. To make a practice of offering kindness to those you see in your everyday life. We don’t know their story and maybe just a smile can mean all the difference because it shows that you do see them.
One day I was traveling a very familiar road to visit my sister an hour away from where I had grown up. I have traveled this road for 50 years. It used to be desolate, winding through what was then called The Pine Barrens. Sections of it were declared protected and state owned that prohibited any building. Yet, over the many years of my going home to visit family and friends, the landscape changed and many developments have now spread and changed the once abundant green quiet of the evergreen landscape. As I drove along the winding, twisting road, I came upon a huge clearing of land, shocking in size. All along the outer edges of this development were stacks and stacks of tall felled trees. I had to pull over it was so upsetting - like piles of dead discarded bodies. It overwhelmed me to the point of tears.The scene lacked any reverence for the sacredness of these beautiful elegant elders. And every trip home, I see at least two dead deer by the roadside.Heartbreaking.
I get this rant but I also find it too common a complaint and it turns into a self - congratulating rag. I find that I’m just thrilled people are outside and moving. We tend to sit too much, it’s considered the new “smoking” in its detriment to our health. So I rejoice when I see people out and about, whether they have ear buds in, taking pictures, talking on the phone - who am I to judge? They are moving and our bodies need to move, have to move. I say the most important thing is to smile at whoever is out and about, say hello, spread good cheer - we all need it!
This really hit me, so powerful in its complex simplicity. It’s always in the layers, the slow unfolding, the tone of wisdom arriving later along with the passage of time. I had a similar experience with a friend ten years my senior but seeming older since our worlds were so completely different.
I am so impressed with Pierre Sernet’s vision of a mobile traditional Japanese tea ceremony to bring people of various cultural and religious backgrounds together- truly original.
For me, this is common sense, you don’t need a study to verify that forgiveness benefits your health. And I don’t ever separate mental and physical health - they are entwined. Just like your body, mind and spirit are one.
Not at all how I wanted to start my day. On to something intelligent and uplifting.
I’m a fan of DWTS and found Anna Delvey chillingly unlikable. I can’t believe she was ever able to be charming enough to swindle anyone. Very arrogant, defensive and unapologetic. I was relieved she was gone so quickly, as her energy was toxic and disrupted the harmony of the friendly, supportive competition.
Love this! “An old person might say that he or she has forgotten more than you’ve known. An elder might say that he or she has lost more certainty than you’ve had.” When I was young, I did not know a lot of elders - very few. Aging seemed a dead end in all respects - physically, mentally and spiritually. If we, the old people, want respect, I feel we need to earn it. And not just from others, but most importantly from ourselves. Remaining open, curious, connected and active are important qualities. As is a diverse group of friends of different ages, cultures, backgrounds. A desire to live on purpose and with purpose. To give back, to use one’s talents and skills in ways that are fun, creative and beneficial to society. To be much more accepting of change, a willingness to be adaptable, to be uncomfortable, to become someone new.
David is always so thoughtful in his writings but I feel the word challenge would be so much better than pain. No matter the degree of pain, most don’t want to experience it! A challenge just sounds more inviting, more like an invitation for expanding yourself. More of a reward afterwards, that you faced a fear and learned something valuable.
To literally imagine this woman’s life is heartbreaking, maddening. I feel such compassion but also inspired by her strength and courage.
It’s heartwarming to know there are kind rich people out there! What a story to tell and a tee shirt!
When I was in eighth grade, I was very rebellious. There were a lot of problems at home and I was angry and frustrated. I got a lot of after school detentions with a particular nun, Sister Madonna Joseph. I always liked her, as she was young and seemed more contemporary than the older nuns. As I was doing my assigned tasks, Sr, Madonna Joseph and I would have meaningful talks about life. At our graduation awards ceremony I was totally shocked to hear my named called. It was the achievement award for greatest improvement in all areas of a student’s life. Later, when school was over for the summer, I received a letter from Sister Madonna Joseph. In that letter she said she saw such promise in me, that she believed in me and looked forward to hearing about my success. That letter meant the world to me. Something I have not forgotten in well over 50 years. It taught me how important and impactful it is to tell someone you “see” them, appreciate them, believe in them.