This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. I can still remember like it was yesterday. After living in Brazil for over a year, it was time for us to move back home to Michigan. Everything that didn’t stay with the house had either been packed up, thrown out, or given away. It was early morning as I drank my coffee, thinking about the day ahead. We had at least three separate flights starting in Sao Paulo, going through Houston, and ending in Cleveland, followed by a 4-hour drive to Ortonville, MI. ByRead More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. As a kid, I was under the impression that I’d have all of the answers when I grew up. I’d know what I wanted and how I was going to get it. I thought there would come this magical time in the future when all of my questions and fears would melt away, and I’d know, no matter what, I was going to be happy. Well, come to find out, that day never comes. The truth is the only way any of us knowRead More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today, and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. One day I went upstairs to gather laundry from my son’s room and the open window in his room had blown the door shut. As I opened up his door, I was met with a warm gust of air, followed by a cool breeze. That flow of air reminded me of energy from the Source. Without an outlet, the cool breeze was blocked from cooling off the room but once I opened up the door, the current of air had somewhere to go. Once the warmRead More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today, and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. I was on a walk with Tootsie when I came across this rock. It looks like one of the many heart-shaped rocks I’ve picked up over the years, but with the bottom broken off. As I picked it up, I was surprised at not only how heavy it seemed but how perfectly it fit into my fingers, my thumb resting comfortably in the space in the center. I carried it like this on my walk, thinking, as I often do, about what this brokenRead More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. Back in 2008-9, we were living in Tatui, Brazil while my husband built a factory for his work. Blake and I had been arguing, so I took a walk with Tootsie to go cool off. Now, Blake and I don’t argue very often, but like all couples, when we do, it’s painful. Not physically, fortunately, but for me, it felt like my heart and mind were on fire. My gut was in a knot and I was struggling not to cry in public. I was miserable.Read More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today, and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. Grace (noun) Simple elegance or refinement of movement. (verb) To honor or credit to someone or something’s presence. Google search I was out walking Tootsie the other day, and on the inside corner of an S-turn I had a test of grace. We’d been walking for about 20 minutes of our hour-long walk when it happened. We were on the inside corner of the S-turn, which was also a pretty steep hill. There was a car coming up the road from behind us, a lady trying to backRead More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, originally written back a few years ago, updated for today, and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. (This post was originally written in 2015.) Although she’s not quite as exuberant as she used to be, Tootsie still loves to chase the stick and walk every day. Now it’s more of a short stroll she takes to sniff and pee and check up on who else has been through the neighborhood. It’s like FaceBook for dogs.  It was during one of these strolls that I became aware of one of my bad habits. After she had stopped forRead More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today, and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. Back a few years ago I was inspired by watching my son, Garrett, play a video game. (Pretty amazing, right?!) It’s an online game called Rune-scape in which players have to collect valuables, mine precious metals, meet characters, and kill zombies to move up to the next level. While all valuables, metals, and people will give you gold coins, killing zombies does not. Looking over his shoulder one afternoon, I asked my son what he got by killing the zombies, and he told me,Read More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today, and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. As I sit here typing, I feel the lizard (the ancient part of my brain that wants to keep me “safe”) pushing me to do it already. “Write the post, then you can be done. Just write it and then start working on the other 9 things on your to-do list. You have a lot to do today, so it’s time to get cracking.” Geesh, pressure much?! My lizard wants me to make it quick, something short and sweet. Although I could write something to getRead More →

This post is part of my cornerstone content, written years ago, updated for today, and still inspiring wisdom and deep understanding. One of my most significant faults is rushing. Rushing through my responsibilities, I’m always hurrying to get someplace else. Instead of being fully present, a lot of times, my head is already ten steps ahead of where I should be, and I miss out on the whole experience. It takes practice to become more mindful of my thoughts and actions. Gretchen Rubin talked about mindfulness on her Happiness Project blog. She writes “I’m trying to stay more deeply in the present moment, to savor the seasons and thisRead More →