My mother was an enchanting beauty with her jade green eyes and thick honeyed hair. She turned heads. My sister with her high cheek bones and muscular petite frame has my mom’s looks. Growing up next to these beauties never fazed me. I didn’t compare myself to them or any of the other strikingly beautiful friends I’ve come to know over the years. I know beauty is luck and sometimes even a curse. But I’m…
The human corridor has expanded for many of us walkers because we have time. My 2-3 mile walks are now a meandering 4-7 miles most mornings. I find myself in new neighborhoods, waving to new people on their porches, and even today being followed by a new dog all the way to the Hall (spoiler alert: the owner came to get her). On my walk this morning, I listened to a meditation that asked what…
I started writing this blog in 2004 when my mother’s health was declining and my desire to move home to New Orleans was all consuming. I wrote my way through one crisis after another until it felt like I had nothing left to say. Then 16 years later, the coronavirus slapped us all upside the head and I found myself looking for a weight to anchor my days. As Carrie Fisher said, “Take your broken…
I was talking about the pandemic to a friend of mine who is a sculptor. I’m not sure we called it the “pandemic” but why not. My friend has been steadily busting her ass in all different directions – a state of the art gallery, multiple moves, art work, all of it, and now it’s all come to a grinding halt. I told her I had returned here to write and record. She said she…
We are all learning social distancing. This morning I ran into Ann wearing the same 100 Men Hall tee shirt as me and said, “Hey, let’s take a selfie so I can put them online” and then I went to stand next to her and she reminded me to distance. Then later the same day, I was in my car and saw her again, and she came towards the car and I immediately pulled my…
At 60 years old, I’m redefining fun for me. It’s surprising how hard I’ve had to consider what is fun since it changed without my knowing it. I came to the conclusion a few years ago that fun for me was a hike in nature or a good long walk on the beach, a bike ride through a beautiful neighborhood, writing in a group, a gathering of gals with spirits and apps, a yummy dinner…
The Kabbalah speaks about an Angel assigned to you when you are in the womb to show you everything you will need to know to be able to complete your tikkun in this lifetime. But because our brains expand in many directions as we grow older, we simply don’t remember the soul memory – so to reignite remembering we can use one of the 72 names of God as a mantra. Breath in vav, breathe…
It’s already started, I noticed when I was watching This is Us, I kept cringing as the characters were touching each other or as they touched doorknobs and counter tops that were not theirs. Social distancing is already hard wired in my brain: Touching other humans = bad Touching objects that are not yours = bad Picking up litter – bad
Unlike social media, here is a place I can speak the truth. Yesterday had many low points. I woke with a great plan to take advantage of the Crosby Arboretum which has opened to the public. You can go be in nature and not be around anyone and I thought we needed to shake up our routine. However, after Tin’s morning meeting he decided he wanted a huge breakfast – which I made – pancakes,…