“I noticed that your posts and your retreats are all about gratitude, joy, beauty…you do know there is more than that, right? There is suffering, there is pain, there is ugly. It can’t be sunshine all the time.”

I am stunned to realize that my friend thinks that to “Celebrate What’s Right in the World” is to walk around pretending. 

He couldn’t have been further from the truth.

I don’t deny… READ MORE

I’m inspired by a baby who infected my mind space on a long-haul flight recently. As we all tried to find the patience to wait through an extended delay, buckled-in and caught up in inconvenience and worry, we tensed at the squawk that let us know that a baby a couple of rows back had woken up.

I sat in dread, sure a delay coupled with a crying baby might just push me over the edge. 

When all of a sudden… READ MORE

I waved goodbye to my friends and headed off, in search of the villa. After only 5 minutes of navigating the medieval streets of Orvieto (Italy), things weren't going well. I stopped, took a deep breath, stared at my map, then turned both it and myself to face a new direction. Just when I thought I was back on track, my right turn snaked left and then left again, leaving me far from where I should be. I grew increasingly… READ MORE