Category: newsletter intro

Last Sunday, I had a bit of a breakthrough in working with my “hot” horse, which in horsey lingo means a very spirited one who likes to go fast. I finally got the hang of loosening the reins rather than continually pulling on them to get him to slow down.  Those of you who are not into horses may be thinking, “What?! Aren’t you supposed to pull hard on the reins to get a running horse to slow down?” Not exactly. But I, like most people, rode that way for years because it was what I was taught as a […]

When I was 35 years old, my husband died, and I entered the most difficult period of my life. One dark day, amid the sadness, loneliness, anger, pain and emptiness, a tiny stream of light filtered into my heart. It came in the form of an elk. I’m fortunate to live in an area where elk are prevalent, yet to this day, every sighting–always unexpected–takes my breath away. That is exactly what happened that day so long ago, and I felt joy for the first time since my husband had passed. That one exquisitely simple moment marked the beginning of […]

One of the few relics of my childhood is a silver charm bracelet my grandmother gave me. One of the charms is a tiny sphere containing a single mustard seed. My grandmother used to tell me that if I had faith–even if only enough to be contained in that tiny mustard seed–anything was possible. Although she wasn’t particularly religious, she was referring to a Bible verse. And although I’m also not religious, the image of the mustard seed and its symbolism came flooding back to me this week.  We are in shadow times. It has been a shadowy week for […]

By now, we are used to standing six feet apart as we encounter each other in public places. Using the invisible barrier of space, we protect each other from getting sick, and that’s one thing our world needs at the moment. But I wonder what kind of world we could create if we could learn to metaphorically hold space for each other. I first encountered the term “holding space” when I began practicing Qoya, although the idea is certainly not particular to that practice. Coaches and therapists do it all the time. Holding space means consciously being present with another person, accepting […]

I spent last week in the garden. It’s not something I normally do, but I’ve been in Texas helping my elderly mother. This morning as I was admiring the neat rows of bright yellow and pink flowers I’d planted and visualizing how lush they would look when I next visited, the neighbor brought over some gorgeous purple sage from her garden, perfect to fill an empty spot.  She noted that once transplanted, the sage would be droopy for a few days and then begin to perk up. By afternoon, it looked a lot worse than droopy—it appeared near death. And […]

Happy Mothering Day While I am so grateful to have been treated like a queen yesterday, I have to admit, I have never been a big fan of Mother’s Day. It just doesn’t seem inclusive enough. The act of mothering is something we are all called to do, whether we have birthed a human or not. It’s a disbursement of feminine energy, although I don’t believe it is particular to women. To me, mothering—and what should be celebrated—is the creation and nurturing of relationships of all kinds. The tenderness, the giving, the care, the sacrifice…the unconditional love. It’s expressed in so many ways, […]

I’ve often wondered how it feels to be an astronaut returning to earth after a long space mission. I’m sure it takes them a while to adjust to gravity and get their land legs.  But aside from that, do the sounds of everyday life seem loud and grating? Do they have any trouble relating to family and friends? Do they have a weird sensation of their home feeling extra spacious compared to a space capsule, but at the same time the world seeming tiny compared to the cosmos they have been floating around in? I’m betting whatever it feels like, […]

My family is generally amused by my taste in movies. I abhor violence, and I fall asleep if a car chase is too long or things start blowing up. But, if a film has romance, animals or cute kids in it, I’m in! Last weekend, we found one called Dreamer that contained the latter two items, so I watched. The movie was loosely based on a true story about a horse that horse that ran The Breeders’ Cup race against all odds. It was a typical story line, the horse gets injured, slowly recovers, then a variety of hardships happen on the […]

“Away, away, from men and towns,To the wild wood and the downs, —To the silent wilderness,Where the soul need not repress its music.”—Percy Bysshe Shelley Last week I felt heavy, isolated, lonely. And then I felt bad for feeling bad. Not helpful I know, but that’s what happened. But today I came to my senses and connected my heavy heart with the heart of Mother Earth. With Sabre, my trusty Golden Retriever and all-around yes man, I took a wander in the forest. Not a hike or a power walk or anything goal oriented. A true wander. As we weaved […]

A couple of weeks ago, my husband came home from the feed store with six baby ducks. This happens every year around Easter time—he brings home either chicks or ducks or both–and we raise them for their eggs. The yellow-brown fluff balls, so tiny that you could nestle one in the palm of your hand, seem so fragile. And this year their vulnerability was proven. A skunk broke into their coop one night and killed all but one. Tragic. But let me tell you about the one! After the incident (and she was no longer super-tiny) we put her in […]