“Keep fresh before me the moments of my high resolve.” –Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman What is your intention for 2024? I like to choose a word for the year ahead that sums up my intention. This year my word is “Peace.” The challenge I've set for myself is to let inner peace...
“Intentions are the soul’s desires coming into physical manifestation.” –Wayne Dyer Every January, I like to reflect on the past twelve months and set intentions for the coming brand new ones, focusing on the qualities I want to manifest more than the things I want to...
At the start of the Bay Area’s shelter in place order, I had a daily schedule. I met with my writing community on Slack every morning, put lots of literary Zoom events in my calendar, baked muffins and chocolate chip cookies, attended morning meditation with my Sangha...
"As you approach the holidays, remember: grief is both a necessity and a privilege. It comes as a result of giving and receiving love. Don’t let anyone take your grief away. Love yourself. Be patient with yourself. And allow yourself to be surrounded by loving,...
Two years after my 19-year-old daughter Maya was killed in a freak accident, I met the recipient of her donated heart: a middle-aged Chilean businessman, his wife, and their two children. My book Swimming with Maya describes that initial meeting and the friendship...
Here's the story of why I named this blog "That's the Way Life Lives." When Maya was five years old we moved to California. In Swimming with Maya, I recount the joys and difficulties of adjusting to life in the Sierra foothills outside of Nevada City. Just six weeks...
Up to my chin in 105 degree water, suphur pricked my nostrils as I bobbed in velvety fluid. I felt as if I had returned to childhood when play and exploration were the focus of my days. My flip flops slapped the wooden deck as I padded from the mineral baths to an...