Visit my show at the PSCCU Credit Union, Vashon, Washington May, June 2024 

Wordless

Words are beautiful but sometimes need to waitLest they be out of place.The world must be experienced before it can be described. I tread in a new land.My sister,(the “good friend” mentioned in these blogs)died Tuesday.Before I write about itI need to take the ride, traverse the storms, And live more fully into this place called death,Holding onto the […]

Six questions to expand the creative you

Does your creative spirit ever feel tamped down or just-around-the-corner-but-out-of-reach? When that happens to me, I have two approaches to rediscovering my groove. The first is to get into action and start making—anything. I may not feel “creative” but I have to remind myself that creative is a label or an adjective and “to create” […]

Finding magic in my pencil

There are many ways to get to know someone, even someone we haven’t met, and this week I’ve been playing with one that has proved particularly meaningful to me.  I draw faces. We live, or at least I do, in a world of judgments, mental constructs, expectations, and prejudices that influence how we see people around […]

Cracking the code on living longer

What if there were a remedy available that could extend your life by more than seven years? And be even better for your health than exercise or eating gallons of kale. And might decrease your chances of dementia. I bet you’d be interested. You might even pay a lot for it. But it’s not for […]

How to become expert at beginner’s mind

Last year, I switched from saying “I can’t do art” to “I am a beginner.” I’m in that lovely stage of discovery, in which I’m not expected to know anything. I have room to play, make mistakes, be curious, and ask questions (even “dumb” ones). This honeymoon period, however, won’t last forever. At some point, […]

A gem of joy in the news

Sometimes in the murky waters called the news, one finds a gem. I did last week when I read a story announcing that Jane Goodall had won the  2021 Templeton Prize. Templeton honors the achievements of people “harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and h Sometimes in […]

When is dementia not a tragedy? (Hint: most of the time)

Earlier this year, I wrote about saying “yes/and” to dementia with a very cool approach that includes improv theatre. But last month, it wasn’t cool at all to learn that a favorite cousin has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. That hit me hard. I was shocked and saddened. Despite our years of close friendship, I was scared to call her. […]

Celebrate the messy ordinary

I just finished Nina RIgg’s uncommonly beautiful and ultimately uplifting memoir of the last year of her life, The Bright Hour. Nina, a great-great-great-granddaughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson, weaves reflections on Emerson and Michel de Montaigne into this tale of family and cancer. Although living while dying might sound morbid, it isn’t. It’s a challenge […]

How to change your past without fudging the facts

Do you ever wish that you could go back to the past and tweak a few memories? The past can be changed. Not the facts, (an endangered species we need to vigorously protect), but the meanings and feelings that accompany them. What we focus on shapes our memories. When we shift our focus, we recast […]

Learning Tips from a 74-year-old Unicycle Rider

With so much to learn in life, I’m always on the lookout for new tips about learning. This week’s lesson came from an unlikely source, my friend Joan, a 74-year-old unicycle rider. We talked about how she has learned demanding, physical skills, even in her seventies. You can apply her lessons to many types of […]

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