Our brains are wired for a negativity bias. Bummer, huh? We all, by default, tend to be natural Eeyore’s, looking for the cloud, the crack, the fault, the rolled eyes, the raised eyebrow, the implied criticism, the pursed lips, the blemish, the deficit etc. {! social/video/youtube?url=http%3A//youtu.be/irL6nLkaj2E%3Ft%3D1m19s !} There is a way out…and that is …
Christmas–the gift of raw honesty
To be truly, authentically, raw-ly honest is a gift that I have come to appreciate and value as something that is treasured and precious and connecting…and rare. When it happens, there is something almost painful about it…because one’s most innermost thoughts are rarely easy or pretty. But it is beautiful. And poignant. And rare. And …
So Low that Down is Up
In an odd sort of way, this day I look forward to annually…December 21st. I’ve blogged about it before…here in 2008, here in 2009, here in 2010, and here in 2011. It’s the day that is the symbol for me of relief…when something has reached it’s extreme and after that it can only get better Because …
Bloomin’Espy!
Espy got her first flower and is well on her way to the second! I walked into the office on Monday morning, and there Melanie, Nadia and Roshonna were by the desk talking. When I walked in the room, they quickly pointed to Espy… And. My. Jaw. Dropped. First…her bloom came quicker than I had …
Heavy hearts…and perspective
The tragic loss of lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut has stirred many people deeply…in a variety of ways. We see grieving parents and identify with the loss, school children wonder about safety and have fears as the vulnerability of life becomes very real, and others rise up in anger at injustice …
Melodious Creativity
Has me be grateful for what I have…makes me think twice about wanting “more”…has me honor and admire those who create beauty and loveliness out of nothing, has me be inspired to create joy out what I find right immediately around me, convinced that it is totally possible… Wow!
Espy’s got style!
Espy has continued to be a cool conversation piece around the office…these amaryllis plants are enough to shock anybody with their amazing growth… Espy was 22.3 cm 2 weeks ago… a week ago she was 31.0 cm and on Friday she was up to 41.6 cm… Ah-MAZE-ing I have to admit though, the growth of …
The Value of Fun
I remember a good friend telling me, in a difficult time of life when I was stressed and struggling, and wondering how to make it through a day that when I cooked spaghetti for the tribe and I should throw a strand towards the ceiling to find out it is was cooked. I looked at …
The balance bar
Permeable and porous…not wide open, nor shut tight. Sigh… …so not easy. I wrote recently of the challenges and the richness of “both/and” living…embracing the joys and sorrows of life simultaneously. It’s easier to be “either/or”…a Pollyanna or an Eeyore…but being stuck in one posture leaves little flexilibility to be both joyful and authentic, to …
Empathy–critical for connection
There are a multitude of reasons that folks–strangers and friends alike–don’t work to be warm with you…reasons why” she doesn’t greet you with a smile at the checkout a fellow customer bumps into you at the grocery store and keeps going without acknowledgement, he doesn’t ask you about how your day is going, or the …