This Too Shall Pass

  ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR A PESSIMIST? It is said that an eastern monarch once charged his wisemen to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and all situations. They presented him with the words: “and this, too, shall pass away. “How … Read more

COVID Brain Part 2

COVID Brain Part 2: Coaching Conversations I have a client who has struggled w/ depression in the past and is struggling with isolation now. In a recent coaching session (in which he wanted to “work through some of the negative shit”), I asked him this question: What are you learning about yourself as a result … Read more

COVID Brain Part 1

Part 1: From The Pandemic Lockdown, Day 159 How long have you been in lockdown, or working from home, or having to balance kids and job and worry about the return to school, or feeling separated from loved ones? Too long, right? I thought I was doing OK. Then two weeks ago (day 143, but … Read more

A Few Resources For You-June 2020

Just For Fun A Few Resources For You You Can Do This Hard Thing. I really enjoy the “virtual choirs” that have existed in social media and on artist platforms for years. Physical distancing has encouraged more people to experiment with that art form, and I found this folk song by Carrie Newcomer hit just … Read more

Lessons From The Muck

Muck [muhk], noun, moist farmyard dung, decaying vegetable matter, etc.; manure; a highly organic, dark or black soil; mire; mud. From 1200–50; Middle English muc, muk <<Old Norse myki cow dung Say WHAT?? When we moved to a new home in 2016, we inherited a large, reed-infested marshy pond that had been neglected for 30 years. We mostly avoided … Read more

What Can You Control?

Stress is Mostly Self-Created Happiness Principle** #7 says, Choose to Respond: What happens is going to happen, regardless. Accept constant, discontinuous change as reality and instead of reacting, respond with curiosity. Wow, when I created these principles, I had no idea how useful they’d be 17 years later during a pandemic! Let’s take a moment to … Read more

To What Are You Giving Your Attention?

It’s been a wet winter here, so our yard is a reeking mud marsh dotted with swampy pools deep enough that we’ve attracted nomadic geese. We are in COVID-19 lockdown (Day 7). Our internet is spotty and overloaded, and my nine-year-old iMac chose today to fully embrace dementia. Our sump pump is blocked. A skunk … Read more

Social Distance is not Social Disconnection

Doctors ask us to keep two meters apart to reduce transmission of COVID-19. But don’t let physical distance lead to emotional disconnection. We need each other more than ever right now. Whether you are passing people in a hallway, sitting a safe space away, or speaking via video or phone, Smile. When you smile on … Read more

Hang Out With Happy People

I remember when my children were younger and we were trying to get past the childhood disease phase, we’d send the boys to hang out with friends who had chicken pox, hoping they’d get infected. Emotions are more contagious than viruses. I’m sure you’ve had the experience of having a roomful of people shift within moments … Read more

Curiosity Can Conquer Fear

There’s a moment in the movie Frozen 2 when Queen Elsa, haunted by a mysterious voice, decides to shift from ignoring it (out of fear) to pursuing it (out of curiosity). The song, Into the Unknown (watch it here), follows her transition from “I won’t” to admitting, “there’s a part of me that wants to go, … Read more