Curiosity Travel: A Joyful Way to Wander Without Leaving Home
Tired of crowded airports, endless TSA lines, or the five-year-old behind you on the plane who thinks kicking your seat is a […]
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 […]
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, […]
Launching Anew
I’ve just introduced my Engaging Presence newsletter to Substack where it is called Embracing the Muse. The new title reflects the […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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, […]
Enjoying the dog days of summer (a pause)
The dog days of summer are here, but as our temperatures in the Northwest head toward 90 (remember, few of us have […]
How to Celebrate a Birthday with 72 Delights
Birthdays are a funny thing. When I was six, a birthday expanded my world. It meant more adventures, a later bedtime, and an allowance. But […]
Let these quotes about the creative process inspire yours
While I know that reading about creativity isn’t the same as making something (and reading about writing isn’t the same as writing), […]
The one tool you need most when you want to create
We’re all creative—and can express our creative spark in endless ways. Yet when it comes to expressing ourselves we’re often handicapped by […]
The Gift of the Ordinary
Grief knocked again—or, more accurately, knocked me off my feet and left me wailing. You’d think after writing about grief, I’d know […]
Letting the tulips sing
Can flowers sing? No way to prove this but recently they sang to me. Finding new colors I recently returned from visiting […]
To practice receiving
A dear friend living in the shadows of cancer, With death on the horizon, Sat with me and said, “Throughout my life, […]
Tiny beautiful acts—a 100-day creative challenge
Could devoting yourself to tiny acts of beauty, gratitude, or creation for 100 days change your life? It did for Suleika Jaouad, […]
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 […]
We Don’t Need to Know Before We Go
One of the cool things about artists is that they often start their pieces (and I’m defining artist in the broadest possible […]
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 […]
Lessons from the Harvest
I love fall with its colors, coolness, beauty, and the poignancy of knowing that winter is coming and the rains will start. […]
Setting Myself on Fire, or the Power of Moments
Some events in our life stand out like none others–so disorienting that they challenge us to know where we are and maybe […]
Sing the Song that Wants to Come Through You
Last week, a friend thanked me profusely for a two-word expression I shared with her seven years ago: “both/and.” The words helped […]
To gain perspective, turn upside down
The tragedy of George Floyd invited many of us to wake up, to see the world as it is and not what […]
Dreaming Big: Daring to want what you want
A friend of mine recently confided that she hasn’t been able to do the artistic work that fills her spirit because of […]
Why Positive Thinking Can Have Negative Results (and what to do about it)
In last week’s post I wrote: “Wishful thinking actually decreases our possibility of meaningful action,” as I explored why dedicating ourselves to what […]
The secret reason you need to dance (or get moving!) Hint: it’s not fitness…
I’m a dancer. Who stopped dancing. But now I’ve a new reason to move – and it’s not about fitness. Do you […]
Celebrating you
In this season of gifts and celebrations, wise men and pilgrimages, the dark of night, and the light of new beginnings, I […]