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We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption

We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption by Kaira Jewel Lingo Was I made for these...

Oct 12, 2022

Looking for Answers

Spoiler alert: This is a rabbit hole. I have spent most of my life searching for answers. I thought searching for answers is what life...

Recipes for a Sacred Life: True Stories and a Few Miracles by Rivvy Neshama

Oct 6, 2022

Recipes for a Sacred Life: True Stories and a Few Miracles by Rivvy Neshama

I needed this book. After reading several very thought-provoking books in a row that challenged the way I look at my life and all but...

Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte

Sep 29, 2022

Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte

The author dedicated this book to WORDS and their beautiful, hidden, and beckoning uncertainties. I was clearly out of my element with...

Sep 28, 2022

Reset, Fast Forward, or Pause?

I just finished reading a book in which the author made mention of undertaking an activity that “… hit that life altering, magic reset,...

Walking with Buddha: Pilgrimage on the Shikoku 88-Temple Trail by C. W. Lockhart

Sep 22, 2022

Walking with Buddha: Pilgrimage on the Shikoku 88-Temple Trail by C. W. Lockhart

Having read many accounts of the life-changing nature of The Camino, I have often daydreamed about what I might learn along the way if I...

Sep 21, 2022

A New Name

For the past week, I’ve been asking myself what’s in a name? My given name is Robin. For the longest time, that is who I thought I...

Threads of Awakening: An American Woman’s Journey into Tibet’s Sacred Textile Art

Sep 15, 2022

Threads of Awakening: An American Woman’s Journey into Tibet’s Sacred Textile Art

Several years ago, in an attempt to quiet my fidgeting and distract the constant chatter and running monologues in my mind, a dear friend...

Sep 14, 2022

Pointing My Bow

Last week I read the book Threads of Awakening: An American Woman’s Journey into Tibet’s Sacred Textile Art by Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo....

Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan’s Most Rigorous Zen Temple by Kaoru Nonomura

Sep 8, 2022

Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan’s Most Rigorous Zen Temple by Kaoru Nonomura

Have you ever gotten to the point where all you can do is close your eyes and plan your escape? When all you can think about is finding a...

Sep 7, 2022

Learning In Reverse

Whenever I find myself at a dead end, inevitably of my own doing, I think of Albert Einstein’s sage words: We cannot solve our problems...

Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream by William Powers

Sep 1, 2022

Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream by William Powers

As described by the Publisher: Why would a successful American physician choose to live in a twelve-foot-by-twelve-foot cabin without...

Sometimes the lessons are in the lessons.

Aug 31, 2022

Sometimes the lessons are in the lessons.

There is no escaping the obvious. I am a hot mess. For those of you who regularly read my blog posts, you must feel like you’ve been...

Aug 24, 2022

Random Wisdom

I can’t even remember when it started. It was never a conscious decision. Each morning, as I am having my breakfast, I reach for one of...

Aug 22, 2022

The Upanishads, Mel Robbins, and Rumi

If you have been reading this blog for the past couple of weeks, you have been reading about my fears and struggles. Though I know my...

Aug 15, 2022

Life Lessons I Missed

Have you ever had one of those a-ha moments when you realized that something very well known to others was a complete mystery to you? A...

Life Lessons from a Bad Quaker: A Humble Stumble Toward Simplicity and Grace by J. Brent Bill

Aug 12, 2022

Life Lessons from a Bad Quaker: A Humble Stumble Toward Simplicity and Grace by J. Brent Bill

Having recently read The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd by Mary Rose O'Reilley, I was...

Aug 8, 2022

First, Last, and Love

It is time to make a change. I have been thinking about change, feeling the need for change, following the Crumbs leading to change, and...

The Delphic Maxims: 147 Ancient Rules for a Happy Life

Aug 5, 2022

The Delphic Maxims: 147 Ancient Rules for a Happy Life

In a previous blog post, I was aghast at an author who sought to: Hold ancient wisdom to the test of modern psychology … Question ancient...

Aug 3, 2022

Call It What You Like . . .

Happenstance, synchronicity, fate, chance, serendipity, or just plain dumb luck. Those odd occurrences where you find you have what you...

Aug 1, 2022

What Is Old Is New Again

As I enter a new phase in my life, my thoughts have been filled with the notion of community; it started with a quote in a book I was...

The Barn At The End of The World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd

Jul 29, 2022

The Barn At The End of The World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd

I almost didn’t read this amazing book. Both on the back cover copy and again in the publisher notes, the emphasis on O’Reilley’s story...

Jul 27, 2022

Unplugged

It was not my choice. A worthwhile experience, but painful and unnerving. A heavy thunderstorm, complete with flooding, brought down both...

Jul 26, 2022