becoming a life artist

Posted by on Aug 31, 2010 in cultivating peace, mindfulness, sacred threads | 9 comments Thich Nhat Hanh a contemporary Buddhist monk, writes with great elegance of the joy to be found in bringing our awareness to the present moment.  He encourages us to be so completely immersed in the task at hand that it becomes to us the most important thing in our life. In The Miracle of Mindfulness, he writes, “While washing the dishes, you might be thinking about the tea afterwards, and so...
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little pockets of beauty

Posted by on Aug 24, 2010 in cultivating peace, mindfulness | 8 comments I really appreciate a beautiful garden.  I love checking out books on gardening from the library and reading them on my couch, while my yard goes neglected.  As an army brat, I never learned and really don’t know the first thing about where you even start when you want to create beauty in the yard. That’s all changing.  In fact, I now understand that it’s not about creating...
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living in a 51 year old body

Posted by on Aug 17, 2010 in body care | 9 comments I’m living in a body that is 51.5 years old.  So far, it’s taken me on a quite a ride.  Or maybe the other way around, I’ve taken it on a quite a ride.  Either way, I’m grateful.  I’ve taken it on untold adventures and it’s held up with remarkable grace and good will…until recently. When I was in my twenties, I spent several summers as a guide on...
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on being flexible

Posted by on Aug 12, 2010 in cultivating peace, mindfulness | 10 comments Things don’t always unfold as I think they should.  Does that ever happen to you?  Come on, you can tell me. Long ago, for Lent, I gave up having expectations, not that I’m Catholic or Episcopalian.  I just like the idea of Lent.  (Note to Self, write about Lent, during Lent!)  I found that I was not so successful at completely letting go of expectations, but it sure did make me...
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follow your nose days

Posted by on Aug 2, 2010 in mindfulness | 7 comments I love love love ‘follow my nose days.’  I aim to have a ‘follow my nose days’ at least once a week.  These days were inspired by one of my long time favorite books, “The Secret River” by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. These are the days I wander through my life, following my nose.  It feels like finding and re-aligning with the Current of Life moving through me...
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