There is a lovely Zen Buddhist story about a farmer’s response to the ups and downs of life.  The story starts with the farmer benefiting from good weather which led to good crops.  His friends pat him on the back and say, “what luck” and “how wonderful.”  His response is simply, “we’ll see.”  The […]

If you feel like life has become more complex, you’re not alone.  Whether it’s politics, parenting, integrating personal and work life, or trying to find contentment; life feels challenging.  On top of that, there is an overload of information on how to find happiness and ways to do everything “right.”  Everything seems like a problem […]

Mindful Moment: The dreaded tasks we put off Rarely is there a day full of only pleasurable experiences.  Most days include the tedious tasks of life that we don’t really enjoy.  It could be doing the dishes, paying bills, or a certain part of your job.  It’s the stuff we have to do even though […]

How often do you feel like you had more time in the day?  Do you ever have the feeling that time seems to go by to fast?  You’re not alone.  It’s an ironic part of being human in today’s society.  We feel like we need or want more time, yet most of the time we […]

How often do you say “hello” or “good morning” out of habit?  Or, how often does someone say “hello” to you as they are walking by and looking at their cell phone?  A lot of us get caught up in the movement of the day and find ourselves repeating “hello” or “good morning” without much […]

I visited my 2 year-old nephew at his Montessori school last week and was reminded of how much I love the concept of floor time.  Floor time is moving from your chair and getting on a child’s level; letting the younger guide the trajectory of the play.  Instead of telling a child what to do or […]

Whether you are new to practicing mindfulness or you have been practicing for a long time, it is helpful to remind ourselves of what mindfulness is not.  Even seasoned practitioners can start to forget what mindfulness is about – a practice, that is never perfected.  The whole point of mindfulness is not to achieve anything, […]

In our busy lives is so easy to get caught up in our own worlds.  We get consumed with our daily tasks, our families, our jobs and so forth.  In this process we fail to see the world outside of us.  In addition, when we become stressed or overwhelmed, it’s as if life contracts.  We […]

In her book Rising Strong, author and researcher Brené Brown defines generosity as the ability to “extend the most generous interpretation possible to the intentions, words, and actions of others.” While this sounds simple, it is one of the most challenging tasks of being in relationship with people – friends, family, co-workers and even strangers. […]

We live in a fast-paced world with unrealistic expectations.  We expect to get things done faster and better than is actually possible.  How many times do you set unrealistic goals for the day or the week; failing to consider what is humanly possible to accomplish in a 24-hour period of time. There are lots of […]