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Communicating

From Dread to Delight: A Lesson in Attitude Adjustment

Last weekend, I had the “opportunity” to do something I was looking forward to about as much as a tooth extraction: standing […]

sallyjfoxJuly 3, 20254 min read
Communicating, Flourishing

Sharing a Fine Whine

Whining often gets a bad rap. Culturally, it conjures images of someone stuck in the past, replaying the same story to anyone […]

sallyjfoxJune 19, 20254 min read
Change, Creating

Finding the Stillpoint

“What’s the best way to move cattle fast?” “Slowly.” — Cowboy wisdom In our fast-paced world, moving slowly isn’t easy. Sometimes I […]

sallyjfoxJune 5, 20253 min read
Creating

Talent or Practice? Why I Choose to Keep Drawing

  Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been drawing every day—sometimes for five minutes, sometimes fifty. It started as a discipline, […]

sallyjfoxMay 29, 20254 min read
Creating

Launching Anew

  I’ve just introduced my Engaging Presence newsletter to Substack where it is called Embracing the Muse. The new title reflects the […]

sallyjfoxMay 21, 20252 min read
Communicating

Time to Move

Next week, I plan (okay—hope) to move this newsletter blog to Substack. It should be simple… but let’s be honest. We’re talking […]

sallyjfoxMay 15, 20252 min read
Uncategorized

Curiosity, wonder, and an ordinary afternoon

This week. I had a magical day, a simple one downtown on my island that taught me a piece of what’s possible […]

sallyjfoxMay 7, 20252 min read
Creating

Choosing What You Choose

Too many choices? Too little time? “First world problem,” you might say — and often, I agree. Having choices is a privilege. […]

sallyjfoxMay 1, 20253 min read
Managing Uncertainty, Uncategorized

A Passion for Hope

This week, the world lost one of its great advocates for hope: Pope Francis. His autobiography, titled Hope, reflects the central role […]

sallyjfoxApril 24, 20255 min read
Change

Beyond Chocolate Bunnies

Spring has sprung in all its spectacularness. The cherry tree has finished weeping its delicate pink blossoms, and now the crabapple takes […]

sallyjfoxApril 17, 20253 min read
Managing Uncertainty

The 3 AM Blues (or how to tame the tiger lurking in your mind)

You probably know the feeling. It’s three am and a wave of thoughts rolls in. The thought police—who diligently steered you away […]

sallyjfoxApril 10, 20254 min read
Change

Anchoring to steady your life

  I find myself teetering on the edge of overwhelm a lot these days, and I suspect I’m not alone.  It feels […]

sallyjfoxApril 2, 20254 min read
Change, Creating

Wither art in times of turmoil

“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need […]

sallyjfoxMarch 27, 20253 min read
Change

How to Feel In Control (Even When the World Isn’t)

The Buddha suggested that our need for control leads to suffering. But who, among us less enlightened beings, doesn’t want to feel […]

sallyjfoxMarch 20, 20255 min read
Self-care

When the World Shakes, Get Grounded

The outer world may be disturbed, but your inner world doesn’t have to be. I woke up at 5:10 a.m. this past […]

sallyjfoxMarch 12, 20253 min read
Flourishing

Loving the flowers (a pause)

The News: Everything is Bad The Poet: Okay, and what if we still fall in love with the moon and learn something […]

sallyjfoxMarch 12, 20251 min read
Self-care

When the World Shakes, Get Grounded

The outer world may be disturbed, but your inner world doesn’t have to be. I woke up at 5:10 a.m. this past […]

sallyjfoxMarch 6, 20253 min read
Change

America 2025: Finding Your Role in the Performance of Our Lifetime

Given the appalling daily news from Washington, D.C., I’ve heard many ask, “What can I do?” and “What’s my role in turning […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 27, 20253 min read
Change

The “Dunno” Card: Your permission to not know

Back in my school days, I was rewarded for knowing things. And the world, as I understood it then, was knowable—even if […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 20, 20253 min read
Change, Communicating

In Case of Catastrophe—Calm

  When the news bombards us with calamity after calamity, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed,  our minds caught in a never-ending spin […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 13, 20254 min read
Change

Be Subversive: SMILE (and then act)

Given the nightmarish news, you may wonder why I suggest smiling—when the appropriate emotional response might be RAGE. I don’t like for one […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 6, 20253 min read
Change

Balance Out Don’t Tune Out

  I did that thing I tell myself not to do: I read an email headline too early in the morning. It […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 30, 20254 min read
Change

Health Alert: Inauguration Despair Virus is Surging

No one needs reminding that it’s been a tough month: fires, bombings, and an inauguration many of us never thought possible. It’s […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 21, 20253 min read
Change

Finding Joy in Baby Gratitudes

As you might know, I’m a big proponent of small steps—even micro ones—that keep us moving toward what matters most. At this […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 1, 20251 min read
Communicating

The Future Needs Us to Go Deeper

Einstein once observed that our problems can’t be solved at the same level of thinking that created them. My take? To address […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 1, 20254 min read
Change

The Art of Unknowing

When I was growing up, school rewarded us for what we knew. We were tested on facts and praised for correct answers. […]

sallyjfoxNovember 14, 20243 min read
Change, Uncategorized

If you need a hug—or some light today

This isn’t the blog I intended to write. I’ll skip any analysis of the world or elections and instead offer you my […]

sallyjfoxNovember 7, 20242 min read
Podcast

Christina Baldwin, Author of the Beekeeper’s Question

Author Christina Baldwin is a pioneer in the field of personal writing, a decades-long teacher of journal writing and storytelling. Her titles […]

sallyjfoxNovember 4, 20241 min read
Change

Because it’s complicated

High-end AI systems can now process a gigabyte (billion bits) of data per second. In contrast, human attention spans have declined to […]

sallyjfoxNovember 1, 20242 min read
Change

We’re in this together

Fear and worry can constrict us, prompting us to hold our energy protectively when we sense danger. These feelings can separate us, […]

sallyjfoxOctober 25, 20243 min read
Creating

Celebrating The Muse—A One Year Anniversary

Candles and Balloons—Celebrating One Year of Meeting the Muse After Midlife As I reflect on the one-year anniversary of publishing Meeting the […]

sallyjfoxOctober 17, 20243 min read
Change

Seven Steps for Surviving Election Season

If you’re prone to anxiety, the pre-election period can feel like an endless source of heart-thumping drama. The state of the world […]

sallyjfoxOctober 10, 20244 min read
Creating

Expand Your Joy by Listing What You Love

Last week, I mounted my horse for the first time in six weeks. For most equestrians, mounting is second nature—we forget about […]

sallyjfoxOctober 3, 20244 min read
Communicating

The Power of Kindness (First lessons from recovery)

I’m five weeks into my recovery from hip replacement surgery, and things are going well. By well, I also mean SLOWLY. It […]

sallyjfoxSeptember 26, 20244 min read
Flourishing

Hip, Hip, Hooray

The last couple of weeks have brought much to celebrate: An amazing change in the race for the US Presidential Elections. A […]

sallyjfoxAugust 8, 20241 min read
Flourishing

Letting Curiosity Guide Us When Things Fall Apart

Last week I lost my neighbor and riding coach, a friend I’d known for thirty years. Hearing the news of her death […]

sallyjfoxAugust 1, 20243 min read
Communicating

Time to shout “no” to misogyny

I wish it were easy to just say no to a force that has been weighing us down for centuries—affecting our bodies […]

sallyjfoxJuly 25, 20242 min read
Change

Got Anxiety? If not, why not? (with lessons from Inside Out 2)

One great takeaway from Inside Out 2, Pixar’s summer blockbuster, is that we are all entitled to a full range of emotions—from […]

sallyjfoxJuly 18, 20244 min read
Uncategorized

How to Create When You’re Feeling Stuck (part one)

This week, I began designing the course Embracing the Muse: Transformative Processes for Enhancing a Creative Life, which I’m teaching on August […]

sallyjfoxJuly 11, 20247 min read
Podcast

Alex Doman, Sound and brain health entrepreneur

 Alex Doman is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, psychoacoustic music producer, and TEDx speaker with more than twenty-five years’ experience in neurotechnology. His […]

sallyjfoxJuly 11, 20242 min read
Uncategorized

Singing through the storms

Here we go again. A major US Supreme Court decision that threatens to decimate democracy gets made a few days before the […]

sallyjfoxJuly 3, 20242 min read
Uncategorized

How to Interview a Rock Star

By the time you read this, I will have interviewed my first rock star. Or, more accurately, a former rock star. Or a […]

sallyjfoxJune 26, 20244 min read
Uncategorized

Celebrating the Magic of the Summer Solstice

The summer solstice is here with people celebrating around the globe. I’ve never paid much attention to it—except perhaps for a big […]

sallyjfoxJune 20, 20244 min read
Podcast

Vicki Robin—Coming of Aging Wisdom

Vicki Robin has been breaking ground throughout her career—she’s truly someone who’s been shaping the stories that matter. She did that in […]

sallyjfoxJune 17, 20242 min read
Creating, Uncategorized

Stumbling in the land of too-much-ness

While we’ve kept our national attention on Covid-19 and its variants, another pandemic has slipped into town: too-much-ness. You can see it […]

sallyjfoxJune 13, 20247 min read
Change, Musing

What’s growing now (a pause)

What’s growing in your garden? Not just in your outside garden, which I hope is flourishing, but in your inner garden as […]

sallyjfoxJune 6, 20242 min read
Flourishing, Musing

Letting life “cure” us

Every day, life burnishes and “cures” us —sometimes by the unexpected and dramatic, sometimes by the routine and ordinary. We feel, we […]

sallyjfoxMay 30, 20241 min read
Creating, Uncategorized

An Unlikely Path to Humility and Mindfulness

When I taught several groups of Japanese managers near Tokyo, one of the qualities I most admired was their humility and consideration […]

sallyjfoxMay 23, 20243 min read
Communicating, Uncategorized

Have you taken the AI challenge

(Hint: It helps to be human) The rapid advance of AI technology feels dizzying, exciting, and terrifying. New technology is outpacing our […]

sallyjfoxMay 16, 20244 min read
Change, Communicating

A Gift from an Unusual Source

What if you could strengthen the qualities you need by feeling your connections with friends who have died? I know this may sound […]

sallyjfoxMay 9, 20243 min read
Uncategorized

A humble, life saving, brain easing tool

While preparing for my about-to-launch art show, a friend helping me (Thanks, Kymm!) created a checklist to guide my work. On it […]

sallyjfoxMay 2, 20243 min read
Podcast

CJ Miller The Spiritual Artist

Chris Miller (CJ) is an entrepreneur, artist, writer, and speaker. He’s a lifelong Spiritual learner who has spent the last 20 years […]

sallyjfoxMay 2, 20242 min read
Uncategorized

Bringing all our parts to the table

We have “no bad parts,” at least according to Dr. Richard Schwartz, founder of the Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach to psychotherapy. […]

sallyjfoxApril 25, 20244 min read
Creating

Sparking creativity with curiosity and joy

Words from a creative genius Maybe the essence of creativity isn’t complicated. Or maybe we should replace the word “creative” (to help […]

sallyjfoxApril 18, 20249 min read
Podcast

Michael Williams: Storytelling as a Healing Practice

Dr. Michael Williams is a Canadian-born storyteller who spent three decades living in Scotland, where he honed his skills as an oral […]

sallyjfoxApril 12, 20243 min read
Musing

There Goes the Sun (da, da, da, da, da)

In a world that’s full of darkness, it’s nice, even miraculous, when something pulls us into the light together. Usually, it takes […]

sallyjfoxApril 11, 20244 min read
Change

Playing with Paradox

To be able to hold a paradox requires holding the tension between opposites—seemingly contradictory forces.  When the world appears too chaotic it’s tempting to want to […]

sallyjfoxApril 4, 20245 min read
Creating

The Glory of New Growth (A Pause)

I find it a miracle that despite what is happening in the world (and thanks for the well wishes about the loss […]

sallyjfoxMarch 27, 20241 min read
Podcast

Clarissa Castillo-Ramsey: Living and Leading Artfully

Dr. Clarissa Castillo-Ramsey brings artfulness together with leadership and helping people grow. She is an organizational psychologist, artist, coach, and author of […]

sallyjfoxMarch 21, 20241 min read
Change, Flourishing

When who we are is how we are supposed to be

Last week I received the latest episode in my ongoing series, “Lessons in Loss and Grief.” A close, dear friend died after […]

sallyjfoxMarch 21, 20244 min read
Change

What’s Age Got to Do with It? (Thank you, Tina Turner)

In 1984, Tina Turner celebrated one of the biggest comebacks in music history. She hit the stage at 44 with her “Private […]

sallyjfoxMarch 14, 20244 min read
Change

When stuff doesn’t make sense

Sometimes, what I expect to make sense doesn’t. And what feels a little crazy might make most sense of all. As a […]

sallyjfoxMarch 7, 20243 min read
Communicating

What to say (or not say) to a friend who is dying

Thanks for reading—it’s not easy to think about losing a friend, let alone what to say.  I’m not thinking today about the […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 28, 20244 min read
Flourishing

Small Acts Can Light the World

All around us tiny acts of kindness are happening daily. You have done some of them. Big or small, they bring light […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 22, 20242 min read
Communicating

All You Need is Love (but skip the roses)

I’m writing this on the National Day of Loving, aka Show-People-You-Love-Them-By-Spending-Money-on-Them Day, aka Valentine’s Day. How did we get started with this […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 15, 20242 min read
Creating

Eight Books Someone Should Write

The uber-creative illustrator and drawing coach, Wendy MacNaughton, issued a challenge this week to the folks following her on Substack: come up with imaginary […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 8, 20241 min read
Uncategorized

Learning to see again

Even with the best of eyes, we often don’t see. I discovered this truth while cleaning my office—a historic event that was […]

sallyjfoxFebruary 1, 20244 min read
Podcast

Francesca Aniballi: Fairy tales aren’t just for kids

What if fairy tales could help us, as adults, to open our imaginations, re-enchant our worlds, and support our personal transformation.  In […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 29, 20242 min read
Flourishing

And now, a brief view from the land of the ordinary

The world’s been a bit gloomy, so I thought we needed a change. A little visit to main street, real life, the […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 25, 20241 min read
Change

Changing at the Speed of Slow

Question to a rancher: What’s the fastest way to move cattle? Rancher: Slowly On Monday, Martin Luther King Day, I thought about […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 18, 20243 min read
Change, Flourishing

Set Up Your Day With Morning Rituals and Routines

In these tumultuous times, as I wrote about last week, morning rituals and routines set the direction for our days. They offer a base […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 11, 20245 min read
Change

Fasten your seat belt—it’s 2024!

“Live with skillful nonchalance and ceaseless concern.”~ Prajnaparamita Sutra ~ Fasten your seat belt, it’s 2024 and we’re in for a wild […]

sallyjfoxJanuary 4, 20243 min read
Uncategorized

Solstice edition: The Light that lives within

Excerpted from “The Light Within” 2023 SJF Last week, I wrote about the darkness and grief many of us felt for the […]

sallyjfoxDecember 21, 20231 min read
Creating, Flourishing

Coping with (collective) grief during the holidays

The holidays can be challenging when we’re feeling grief, especially after personal losses—even those from long ago. This year many of us […]

sallyjfoxDecember 14, 20233 min read
Uncategorized

Beauty and the Holidays

I caught up with the Angel of Beauty the other day as she stared into a storefront. “Beauty,” (as she let me […]

sallyjfoxDecember 7, 20232 min read
Change, Uncategorized

The exquisitely beautiful and difficult

“To me, this is so much of life: holding the really beautiful things and the profoundly hard things in the same palm.” […]

sallyjfoxNovember 30, 20234 min read
Change

The Gift of Ordinary Kindness

When readers tell me that they are enjoying my book, it makes my heart sing. If it inspires them to expand their […]

sallyjfoxNovember 22, 20232 min read
Communicating

Blessing the glad and the sad

Thanksgiving in the US is almost here, the day we sit around the table, hopefully with family and friends, and share with […]

sallyjfoxNovember 16, 20233 min read
Change

Eight ways to help your brain chill (and not be a boiled frog)

Peter Senge taught me the lesson of the boiled frog in his 1990 book, The Fifth Discipline. He described how, if you […]

sallyjfoxNovember 9, 20234 min read
Leading

Completion challenge: Surviving and thriving at harvest time

I always thought harvesting was the fun part of the growing cycle. I still do; I just didn’t realize that it could […]

sallyjfoxNovember 1, 20232 min read
Uncategorized

Following the trail of “yes”

My husband Steve and I just celebrated the 36th anniversary of our meeting. (We were married 35 years ago.) We said yes […]

sallyjfoxOctober 26, 20232 min read
Creating

Do you need a “mistake pass”?

A vocal coach in Australia described her method of helping the participants in her classes sing more freely: she gives them each […]

sallyjfoxOctober 18, 20233 min read
Podcast

Sally Fox: Following a Creative Call After Midlife

What if your years after 50 offered creative possibilities that you never touched when you were younger? Author Sally Jean Fox made […]

sallyjfoxOctober 16, 20231 min read
Creating

When clouds get in the way

Does it ever happen to you that—when things are going great—blue sky and fresh breezes—some small thing derails you and lets a […]

sallyjfoxOctober 12, 20233 min read
Podcast

Merle Saferstein: Writing and Living Your Legacy

Have you thought about writing your legacy, capturing thoughts and events that might be only for your eyes—but from which you might […]

sallyjfoxOctober 9, 20231 min read
Creating

What’s in your manifesto? (Is it time to share what you believe?)

These days, a lot of people are so busy saying what they’re against that we never hear what they’re for. Throughout history, […]

sallyjfoxOctober 5, 20232 min read
Change

Growing high/growing low

Most trees and plants grow by reaching upward toward the light while sinking roots into the darkness of the earth. We grow as […]

sallyjfoxSeptember 28, 20235 min read
Storytelling

Storying a more meaningful life (and a tribute to Juliet Bruce)

Stories teach. Stories heal. Stories transform. Working with stories, both ours and others, can help us find meaning and live a more […]

sallyjfoxSeptember 21, 20235 min read
Creating

The Courage to Be Mediocre

Does the idea of being mediocre stop you from trying to do the creative thing you’ve always wanted to do? If so, […]

sallyjfoxSeptember 14, 20235 min read
Creating, Flourishing

Overwhelmed? It’s OK to “Cry Uncle!”

I had tea this week with a close friend, one of the most kind, competent, and generous people I know. Also one […]

sallyjfoxSeptember 7, 20234 min read
Creating, Uncategorized

Surviving Mile 19

“Hitting the wall” is the term runners use to describe the moment when the bottom seems to fall out of their stamina, […]

sallyjfoxAugust 31, 20235 min read
Podcast

Mik Kuhlman: The Actor as Activist

Mik Kuhlman is an actor, physical theatre comedian, performance artist, theatre-maker, and teacher who has worked and taught globally. Building on her […]

sallyjfoxAugust 28, 20231 min read
Coaching Testimonials

The real deal who brings us gold

I experienced major shifts in my consciousness, confidence, and skill as a speaker due to Sally’s powerful coaching. Sally has my highest […]

sallyjfoxAugust 26, 20231 min read
Coaching Testimonials

She helped me develop the leadership skills I needed

Sally shaped my leadership and professional development skills and coached me toward achieving a series of personal development goals. She challenged me […]

sallyjfoxAugust 26, 20231 min read
Coaching Testimonials

She helped me attract the ideal client

I engaged Sally as a coach when I was feeling stuck attracting the ideal client.  Though we were working by phone, her […]

sallyjfoxAugust 26, 20231 min read
Book Testimonials

We can recognize ourselves

From Barry Johnson, author of Polarity Management: We can reflect and recognize our own stories as Sally shows how she has lived […]

sallyjfoxAugust 26, 20231 min read
Book Testimonials

A joyride!

From Ann Hedreen, author of Her Beautiful Brain Minding the Muse is a joyride. There are struggles, and there is grief, but all […]

sallyjfoxAugust 26, 20231 min read
Book Testimonials

Candid, courageous, creative

From Mary Oak, author or Heart’s Oratorio Candid and courageous, Meeting the Muse After Midlife celebrates Sally’s marvelous story of ripening into […]

sallyjfoxAugust 26, 20231 min read
Book Testimonials

Sally is a pioneer in the revolution to transform the second half of life

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sallyjfoxAugust 26, 20231 min read
Book Testimonials

Sally’s stories beckon to the pathway home

From  Richard Owen Geer, director and author of Story Bridge: Some books give rules, others examples, but the best weave tales, for only […]

sallyjfoxAugust 26, 20231 min read
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