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There is so much talk about minimalism these days, but I think there are many misconceptions about this idea. Yes, part of this concept is having less, but there are so many other parts to this notion. Concept One: Make the small things in life the big things. I have to keep...

When we think of being brave, we may think about standing up for ourselves as if an intruder came into our home, or perhaps someone is about to step in front of a car and we risk our lives to get them safe. There are two other types of being brave that often go unrecognized, but...

“What can you do to promote world peace?” asked Mother Theresa. “Go home and love your family.” On Mother’s Day, I received the most beautiful card from my daughter, who is now 25 and in graduate school. Raising her took years of hard work, and I was far from perfect.  There were...

When I think of courage, I think about having to dig deep down inside to find resources we may not know we had. It is sometimes going through difficult times and finding this strength that we learn so much more about ourselves. I can look back at my own life and see my times of...

“ll Push You” is an emotion packed documentary of two best friends, Justin and Patrick, hiking the 500-mile pilgrimage trail through France and Spain called the Camino de Santiago. What makes this journey more challenging than most is Justin has a rare neurological...

“Take My Nose…Please” is a documentary that focuses on female comedians such as Jackie Hoffman, Emily Askin and Jacque Lynn Foltyn, and their thoughts, feelings and obviously humor on plastic surgery.  Each comedian shared the pressures they feel as a woman and being in the...

Author and public speaker Tim Ferriss interviewed over 200 high performers and business leaders, and found that 80 percent of them meditate. I liked how he described meditation is like taking “a warm bath for your brain.”  Ahh, that sounds so good.  Most of us love a nice...

As Tolstoy once wrote, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” This is a wonderful time of year to start looking at cleaning out the old and bringing in the new.  I love to garden and this is such a great time for new planting. I so enjoy watching the flowers blossom on my...

Week two of having a broken shoulder brings more lessons to learn. This one may be even harder than the first week: Patience. The first week I was good at breathing, and becoming kind and allowing the process.  Week two has gone a little differently. I can get up and co...

Who does not like double chocolate salted caramel cake? I made one last week for my friend’s birthday. It was quite the process, with different fillings and all from scratch. I like doing kind things for people. It feels good. Last Friday we had that storm blow into town—not the...

Are you connected? Did this make you think of social media, or did you think about being connected in your relationships? It is sad to realize that people spend more time connecting via some form of social media than in person. There is a considerable difference between these two...

Hasn’t our weather been amazing? There is something special about the rain. Yet when you think even more deeply about it, when the rain stops there is silence, a freshness in the air, a sense of a new beginning. The rain allows for new growth. The local hills have been covered...

Change. It’s a word we all have thoughts about. Even when change is positive it can still be difficult. Life is full of beginnings and endings. In fact, everything has a beginning and an end. Some events, situations and people are in our life for a short time, while other events,...

A new year is upon us, which means looking at what we want to accomplish in 2017. However, I had a reminder today that while it’s great to look at what we want in the New Year, there are things that need to just be part of our lives year after year. Let me explain by telling you...

Thinking about what I wanted to share with Christmas and other holidays fast approaching, I was struggling to find a topic that would hit home and was a little different. Author Glennon Doyle Melton brought it home pretty quickly for me: “The only meaningful thing we can offer...

We made it through another Thanksgiving, which is wonderful of course yet so often we end up stressed and telling ourselves next year we are not going to do so much. Yet, guess what? Next year comes and we end up doing just as much. So if you are going to do too much, at least...

Waking up to the news that there had been a 7.5 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand made my stomach churn. I spent the first 25 years of my life growing up in New Zealand and two years living in Christchurch.  I started to think more about my life back then. Walking to school...

UCI has a superb free lecture series called “Distinctive Voices.” The topics are based around science and what is relevant to our world today. I attended one of these lectures, “The Magic of Emotional Touch,” taught by Dr. Katalin Gothard, a professor of Physiology and...

Looking at a blank page and wondering how to start my column this week. I keep turning to look at my Pinterest account to help me decide what I want to cook for Thanksgiving, rather than write my article. It’s not that I don’t want to write my article. I enjoy writing. It’s not...

Sitting at my table tonight, I was focused on what I was working on when I received a text from my daughter with a picture of the beautiful sunset we were experiencing.  It sure made me take a deep breath and stop what I was doing. I was absolutely oblivious to how beautiful it...