#Compassion

FROM THE SANCTUARY
Here are my thoughts and musings, inspired by my
daily sunset ritual of raising a glass of wine in gratitude to the Universe.

Jan 30, 2019
4 min

Refiring

People are aghast when they discover I left my comfortable job at age 55 to enter the state of retirement as our culture popularly defines it. This for most is an illusion where one is looking for financial security until they die. For me, leaving my job had less to do with dollars and more to do with sense. My intuitive voice was begging me to return to serving others, work that had dwindled at my current job. I needed to find the quickest and best route to help my fell

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Unspoken Words

I recently read a book that was dedicated to “the memory of my father for things left unsaid.” I thought of my own father, passed away nearly forty years now. He was here one day, gone the next and I never had the chance to tell him in life what he meant to me. I have since resolved that with his spirit, but it took a long time and much writing. It was a lesson well learned; one that taught me to share my kind sentiments to those that I care about in the living years. If

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Capturing Life in 2019

A lot of people know about my background, but very few know my story.” That quote from one of my newbie writer friends was casually stated, yet it struck me as so profound, that I made him repeat it. That is the case with so many of us; we long to express ourselves deeply and to know each other that way. In college, my concentration was communication. The concepts I studied about how humans communicate have changed very little. Yet in the 21 years since I graduated, the qua

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Merry Christmas to All and to Beth a Good Flight

In the mail today was an envelope containing an obvious Christmas card from my friends Walt and Beth. I noticed immediately that the usual return address label listed only “Walt,” and I hesitated before opening it. Beth had been in remission for breast cancer, and it had returned and spread. I had spoken to her by phone once since and she was her usual upbeat self. Life got in the way, so I thought about, yet did not act upon a follow up call. When I did open up the env

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Let There be Light

Tapping into my spiritual self to share with you because that is what I am feeling this evening. With Thanksgiving in the past, I am cherishing the memory of a wonderful, small family/friend celebration complete with fireplace fire to kick high into gear with the magical holiday season. Raised on Christmas, this former Catholic has broadened her idea of the holidays through cross-cultural interactions to instead embrace winter solstice which to me incorporates all of mankin

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Blessings are for Sharing

Woohoo, Thanksgiving is here! Thanksgiving is every day for me, but I love it when the rest of the U.S. plays along. Most get excited about the travels home, turkey, pumpkin pie and gatherings. The gifts we celebrate are togetherness and each other and that’s what I’m all about. On the weekend before the actual holiday, my small part Native American ancestry is kicking in, imagining how simple and brotherly that first celebration may have been. This Thanksgiving brings m

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Farewell to the Rat Race

My last day of work was this past Thursday. I came home and raised a glass to celebrate a career that has spanned three and a half decades. I sat on my couch contemplating and enjoying the lingering scents of cologne and perfume, reminding me of all the farewell hugs I received. It is refreshing to be leaving the rat race. Commutes are now a thing of the past and so is setting an alarm with the same digital clock radio that has been waking me up for 37 years. I bought it

Jan 30, 2019
4 min

Bring Back Relationship Sustainability

In the past three weeks my children have broken up with their significant others. Their friends are doing this too, and the grapevine is strangling with stories of people leaving each other. Separating from your partner is going viral. After making the decision to leave her fiancé and telling me of others in her circle who are doing the same, my daughter described it this way, “Nobody is angry at one another. We are all just sad.” In all of these relationships, I still see

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

The Wonder of Listening/Observing

Much has been said about our fight/flight response, hunter/gatherer days in primitive times. Yet I imagine there must’ve been hours back then between sabre tooth tiger attacks when our ancestors were just listening, observing and appreciating their surroundings. No one was talking because language had not yet been invented. By nature I am a Listener and several people have told me I am a good one. I like that. As our society becomes increasingly entrenched in media and techno

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Playgrounds and Empty Nests

In preparation of settling into the unplugged world of Myfi in two weeks, I’ve been spending the past several months establishing an online network through LinkedIn. During my years of helping college students create profiles and encouraging them to join this platform when it was first available, I created my own yet didn’t use it much beyond learning the basics to assist them in reaching out to find internship leads and mentors. So when I jumped on in February as way to conn

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Red Balloons and Perfect Days

Fresh off a six-day visit to my second home of Florida, I take a lazy day off in the Sanctuary to enjoy some down time and nature. I took a two-hour nap on the couch, meditation break by the creek and mustered up the energy to do one whopping load of laundry. During my meditation, I was aware of the living creatures all around me. Ants and tiny spiders tickling my skin, an ebony damselfly spending time alternating between my second toe, shin and large blade of grass nearby an

Jan 30, 2019
2 min

Butterflies and Cursive

Took some time out from the world to escape in The Sanctuary. In between an assisted living home visit for a reading was my quiet time and ecotherapy and lots of it. A monarch butterfly flitted by and landed on my swamp milkweed. This was a gift from a friend a year ago who promised that it would attract. Promise fulfilled! This exquisite visitor alternated playing and feeding for two hours while I watched and marveled at the relaxed state of its simple state of being. There

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Mommy Love from the Snow Globe

From the Sanctuary: Magic keeps happening here. At last the tree and bush buds have fully emerged and the air is drifting with cottony seeds rather than snowflakes. I feel like I am immersed in the glitter of a snow globe, only warm. Thousands fall at a snail’s pace, taking my blood pressure with them. Exquisitely beautiful relaxation. The Sanctuary is alive with activity. There is a treasure trove of bumble bees, yellow finches, cardinals, mourning doves, mallard ducks, catb

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

To Wellness and Spring

Having fun with the new diagnosis this week. Met the new PT who was filled with nothing but encouragement for my MS after a thorough examination and assessment. Of course this will take some effort on my part, so there is exercise homework to do. I was instructed to get a playground ball, so I selected one with a Batman logo to make it extra fun. Then she gave me some activities to reprogram my brain to improve my physical self. Hey, if I successfully retrained it to reverse

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Until the Pink Goes Away

From the Sanctuary: I take a different vantage point in the Sanctuary today as part of my new “Reverse that MS” therapy. The neurologist has ordered some IV steroid treatments which have me alternating crashing for an hour and cleaning/decluttering my house for several more. We’re almost done with those guerrilla treatments, and my closets will miss them. My supplemental self-therapy was great today. Quiet nature walk and photography session followed by lollygagging and medit

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

The Magic of Being Held

On this Easter Sunday morning during this season of rebirth and renewal, the powers that be are playing an April Fool’s prank by casting giant snowflakes down from semi- blue skies through the sunshine. It really is delightful. I’m held spellbound by the minute-by-minute visual change. Which brings me to the theme of today’s blog, the magic of being held. As I was waiting for sleep to come the other night comfortably cuddling my teddy bear (never too old to do this), I happen

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Living the Change

As I raise my glass at sunset and close out another day, I gaze out at the white layer of late winter snow and admire my Sanctuary view that has the wind wrestling through the bare branches. Spring arrived this week with cool temperatures and a string of welcome sunny days and blue skies. I went for a short walk in the gushy grass earlier this week with the intent to remove the debris that inevitably settles into the woods during the winter. As I headed toward a discarded fas

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Put on the Banana Suit and Play

Thirty-five years of helping young adults with their vocations, and the best quote ever for maintaining that important “follow your heart” theme comes the other day from a twentysomething, “Even if you’re wearing a damn banana suit every day; do what you love!” Thanks from Megan, my son’s girlfriend, for those wise words. Speaking of wise words, one of my readers reintroduced me to my own this past week while reading my book, Giddy as Charged. The premise is how to reconnect

Jan 30, 2019
4 min

Raising a Glass

It’s that time of the year for us stir crazy Western New Yorkers who don’t partake in winter outings because the cold temperatures don’t appeal to us. By the time February comes along, we’re fireside chatting, cleaning out closets, rearranging furniture or otherwise seeking out creative ways to keep occupied. And have fun. On a recent car ride through slushy streets with my daughter and her boyfriend, he started noticing a late winter staple; shopping carts in various states

Jan 30, 2019
3 min

Rose Colored Implants

I honestly do view the world through rose colored glasses. Let’s just say I wear the corneal implants. They complement my blue eyes, making them sparkle. After all, everything I view with them makes me smile. My vision is much more clear now that I have them. Before, I wasted much time and energy on the negative; it was exhausting. I’m ready to focus only on the good about life. Because I can. The highlight of my week came in the form of a phone call yesterday at work, quite

FROM THE SANCTUARY Here are my thoughts and musings, inspired by my daily sunset ritual of raising a glass of wine in gratitude to the Universe.

FROM THE SANCTUARY
Here are my thoughts and musings, inspired by my
daily sunset ritual of raising a glass of wine in gratitude to the Universe.