Every new year I find myself filled with optimism. I won’t deny that last year was challenging on many levels for many people here and around the world. But that simple digit change on the end of the date invites the potential for something different—something better—something hopeful. And as a person who believes in the power of affirmations to help direct our thoughts in positive ways—I decided to go through a few of my favorite quotes to see which ones I want to focus on as 2026 gets underway. [Read more…]
About fifteen years ago my husband Thom and I began using the word “rightsize” to describe the lifestyle that we started practicing. At the time, we felt a strong motivation to create a more simple and minimal existence. So that led us to taking the popular step that many people refer to as “downsizing.” We didn’t need such a big house and certainly didn’t need all the stuff that we had accumulated over the years. But rather than calling it downsizing (which implies sacrifice) we decided to call it “rightsizing”. Rather than a focus on giving up things, we took steps to eliminate everything that wasn’t adding joy and contentment to our lives. And naturally, it wasn’t just about getting rid of stuff we owned, it was mostly choosing to focus on the things that truly mattered to us. [Read more…]
For my entire life I have avoided the very idea of suffering. It’s not that I don’t feel sympathy for others when I witness others going through challenging times, but as for me—nope! With the arrogance of youth, I remained convinced that even when things looked disastrous in my life, I could always work them out. Like Pollyanna, I didn’t deny bad things happen to good people, I just felt certain that with the right approach anything could be overcome. Then when I came upon the New Thought philosophy, it gave me the tools (or at least the narrative) about how to do just that. But you know what? I’m much older now and I can’t help but look around and notice that people are suffering through no apparent fault of their own. Sometimes, no matter what you do, stuff happens. And yes, if I’m honest, there have been times when I have suffered physically and mentally. Maybe that’s why when I came across Richard Rohr’s new book, The Tears of Things—Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage I knew there was something there for me to consider.
We’re back—not exactly home, but back. That might seem like a strange way to put it, but we aren’t exactly “home” just yet. We are however back on our home continent after spending several months in Europe. Our trip was great with no major problems. Everything flowed smoothly, we stayed healthy and enjoyed some wonderful sites and experiences. Also good was favorable weather, good food and nice people. Still, after several months of travel we were ready to come home. But where is our home now anyway? [Read more…]
This summer Thom and I escaped to Germany for nearly a month. Why Germany? Well, we had never spent any time there in the past and figured it could be an interesting place to explore while enjoying cooler temps. (Remember we live in the hot desert southwest, so this is an ongoing plan.). We did start our trip in Berlin because friends we had met on another trip lived there and urged us to come. But otherwise, we headed to southern Germany usually known as Bavaria and focused on small towns. Not surprisingly, there are many things unique to Germany that we had not experienced before and decided to share those that seemed most interesting. [Read more…]
“The meaning of Life is just to be Alive,” says Alan Watts.
I heard this quote some time ago and dwell on it often –especially when I feel life is not going the way I want it to go.
Can it be that simple? Is our meaning/purpose just to be Alive? Alan encourages us to be fully engaged in the journey, to savor the experience, and find joy in the simple act of being Alive.
Years ago, I started journalling. I’ve done it so long I don’t remember when I began—the 80’s? The inspiration came after reading Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way and I just kept going. In the beginning I did it because it allowed me to put my thoughts on paper and think about what I was thinking about. Memories, ideas, lessons, regrets, celebrations…you name it. The last 40 years of life has been largely contained in those pages. Then interestingly enough I came across a couple of articles that explained how keeping notes like that are a wonderful way to “keep the days from blurring together.” Ever felt like that has happened to you? [Read more…]
Last week Thom and I drove back to our former home in La Quinta. We were able to rent it out seasonally for a spell but hadn’t been back to check on it since. Yes, the house is over twice as large as our tiny-house park model in Arizona. So, it feels rather spacious. Not big, but plenty of room. It is also very comfortable and familiar. We lived here for 14 years before our “experiment” in Tucson and made the house just right for us. That is until we began living in our community in Tucson. Now, after being back for only a few days something has become pretty clear. For us that means that our future and our happiness exist in the community we now have, rather than any particular house.
Every now and then, if we are lucky, we encounter a person or an organization that inspires us and gives us hope. Such is the case when Thom and I discovered Tucson Village Farms here in Tucson a year ago. Started as a dream in 2009 by two women, Leza Carter and Elizabeth Sparks, the goal was to build an urban farm where kids could be out in nature and see for themselves where food comes from other than grocery stores. From an initial dream that began with a one-acre plot of raw dirt, these women created an amazing facility that now, in 2024 alone, reached 11,000 youth and 8,000 adults through 491 year-round programs. One of their mottos is, “Changing the world one carrot at a time.”
One of the advantages of being a writer for many years is that you have decades of writing to look back on as your age creeps upwards. I have been writing for over 40 years now and putting out articles on this blog for nearly 15. Through the years I have shared hundreds of ideas and curiosities with anyone who wanted to read along. Some of those thoughts I even put into books. At the same time I have been journalling for at least 30 years now so if anyone wanted to blackmail me, there is all the evidence they would need to judge me for my thoughts and actions. Fortunately, what’s most interesting at least to me, is that I can see how I have gradually grown and evolved through the years. So here are the top ten bits of wisdom I think I’ve gained the most. [Read more…]
Every new year I find myself filled with optimism. I won’t deny that last year was challenging on many levels for many people here and around the world. But that simple digit change on the end of the date invites the potential for something different—something better—something hopeful. And as a person who believes in the power of affirmations to help direct our thoughts in positive ways—I decided to go through a few of my favorite quotes to see which ones I want to focus on as 2026 gets underway. [Read more…]
About fifteen years ago my husband Thom and I began using the word “rightsize” to describe the lifestyle that we started practicing. At the time, we felt a strong motivation to create a more simple and minimal existence. So that led us to taking the popular step that many people refer to as “downsizing.” We didn’t need such a big house and certainly didn’t need all the stuff that we had accumulated over the years. But rather than calling it downsizing (which implies sacrifice) we decided to call it “rightsizing”. Rather than a focus on giving up things, we took steps to eliminate everything that wasn’t adding joy and contentment to our lives. And naturally, it wasn’t just about getting rid of stuff we owned, it was mostly choosing to focus on the things that truly mattered to us. [Read more…]
For my entire life I have avoided the very idea of suffering. It’s not that I don’t feel sympathy for others when I witness others going through challenging times, but as for me—nope! With the arrogance of youth, I remained convinced that even when things looked disastrous in my life, I could always work them out. Like Pollyanna, I didn’t deny bad things happen to good people, I just felt certain that with the right approach anything could be overcome. Then when I came upon the New Thought philosophy, it gave me the tools (or at least the narrative) about how to do just that. But you know what? I’m much older now and I can’t help but look around and notice that people are suffering through no apparent fault of their own. Sometimes, no matter what you do, stuff happens. And yes, if I’m honest, there have been times when I have suffered physically and mentally. Maybe that’s why when I came across Richard Rohr’s new book, The Tears of Things—Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage I knew there was something there for me to consider.
We’re back—not exactly home, but back. That might seem like a strange way to put it, but we aren’t exactly “home” just yet. We are however back on our home continent after spending several months in Europe. Our trip was great with no major problems. Everything flowed smoothly, we stayed healthy and enjoyed some wonderful sites and experiences. Also good was favorable weather, good food and nice people. Still, after several months of travel we were ready to come home. But where is our home now anyway? [Read more…]
This summer Thom and I escaped to Germany for nearly a month. Why Germany? Well, we had never spent any time there in the past and figured it could be an interesting place to explore while enjoying cooler temps. (Remember we live in the hot desert southwest, so this is an ongoing plan.). We did start our trip in Berlin because friends we had met on another trip lived there and urged us to come. But otherwise, we headed to southern Germany usually known as Bavaria and focused on small towns. Not surprisingly, there are many things unique to Germany that we had not experienced before and decided to share those that seemed most interesting. [Read more…]
Years ago, I started journalling. I’ve done it so long I don’t remember when I began—the 80’s? The inspiration came after reading Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way and I just kept going. In the beginning I did it because it allowed me to put my thoughts on paper and think about what I was thinking about. Memories, ideas, lessons, regrets, celebrations…you name it. The last 40 years of life has been largely contained in those pages. Then interestingly enough I came across a couple of articles that explained how keeping notes like that are a wonderful way to “keep the days from blurring together.” Ever felt like that has happened to you? [Read more…]
Every now and then, if we are lucky, we encounter a person or an organization that inspires us and gives us hope. Such is the case when Thom and I discovered Tucson Village Farms here in Tucson a year ago. Started as a dream in 2009 by two women, Leza Carter and Elizabeth Sparks, the goal was to build an urban farm where kids could be out in nature and see for themselves where food comes from other than grocery stores. From an initial dream that began with a one-acre plot of raw dirt, these women created an amazing facility that now, in 2024 alone, reached 11,000 youth and 8,000 adults through 491 year-round programs. One of their mottos is, “Changing the world one carrot at a time.”
One of the advantages of being a writer for many years is that you have decades of writing to look back on as your age creeps upwards. I have been writing for over 40 years now and putting out articles on this blog for nearly 15. Through the years I have shared hundreds of ideas and curiosities with anyone who wanted to read along. Some of those thoughts I even put into books. At the same time I have been journalling for at least 30 years now so if anyone wanted to blackmail me, there is all the evidence they would need to judge me for my thoughts and actions. Fortunately, what’s most interesting at least to me, is that I can see how I have gradually grown and evolved through the years. So here are the top ten bits of wisdom I think I’ve gained the most. [Read more…]