The Excellence Trap

The Excellence Trap

Admit it, you know you’re good at a lot of things. You do them every day on auto-pilot—making decisions on the fly, helping someone learn something, creating a delicious dinner. Zipping through a project, job, or errands because you reverse-engineered the whole gig....
Dispatch from the Monastery—Getting Disoriented

Dispatch from the Monastery—Getting Disoriented

Those of you who have seen me around food know there’s a little weirdness. I obsess over vegetable representation, scrape pots and bowls with spatulas, freeze anything after four days, forage for crunchy bites, and never miss a meal. Must have starved in another...
When Generosity Ripples, Step In and Up

When Generosity Ripples, Step In and Up

The thoughtful K gifted me with a few days at St. Gertrude’s Monastery in Cottonwood, Idaho. Built in the 1920’s, the monastery sits on the Camas prairie, with two red domes lifting over the four-storied stone building. It’s perched on a wooded hillside with...
Be NOSI with Yourself

Be NOSI with Yourself

On a recent stay with my 86-year-old dad in Ohio, I got to practice checking my impatience and slowing down. Dad loves “visiting,” which means telling anecdotes from random threads of memories. It’s also a practice of kindness and respect for me to listen to the...
Let’s Do This

Let’s Do This

Mid-February is a mixed-up time in the mountains—the sun is higher and the snow melting. Then more snow arrives and the wind heaves it all over the dry roads. I feel hopeful about spring along with a little “No, wait!” to finish those winter projects. Anyone else? I...
A Healing Crisis

A Healing Crisis

You last saw me rambling here about “Right Action” and what it means to do your job skillfully, selflessly, and cheerfully. I fully expected to return from a pilgrimage in India with clarity, new resolve, and fresh energy to dive into exactly that....