As of this post, my online FROG Blog completes its 9-year literary journey on the lily pad of life. I’ll enter the still backwaters with less words, more quiet; from technological presence to in-person communication. Real-time. No screen required. No passwords to remember. Less reliance on electronic devices. There’s relief in the grief as I…
What do you do to achieve calm amidst chaos? This writing prompt led me to take inventory about how to find calm in the midst of chaos—in a world that is often in overdrive. I believe we gain more thoughtful appreciation for each other when we pump the brakes before we push the accelerator. What…
Microwave popcorn at work? Scandalous! I worked in a clinic where there was some policy, unknown to me, about microwaving popcorn. The only written breakroom guideline was to clean up after yourself and empty the fridge on Fridays. Clearly, I hadn’t read the procedural fine print: “Thou shalt not pop microwave popcorn.” I found this…
What is success? Success. According to whom? Defined by what? What Is Success? Defining Mental Clarity on Your Terms Each revolution we take around the sun adds another year of training in Earth’s classroom. Every minute provides something that serves us with a lesson or a blessin’. When Life Feels Like Tucking an Octopus Into…
That was then. This is now. What will be, will be. It is what it is. Repeated quotes from the past. The Challenge of Living in the Present Moment Wisdom for the future. I frequently hear, ‘Embrace the moment,’ ‘Be present,’ ‘Live with awareness.’ How often do I truly experience living in the present moment…
Cut the chaos. Start with a solution. Why Emotional Reactions Sabotage Workplace Solutions I work with a manager who’s seen countless examples of conflict in the workplace—and he requires non-medical-emergency conversations to be scheduled at least one hour in advance. Caleb (name changed) notices that when an employee rushes into his office to tell or…
One list. Two 6th-grade girls. 800 miles apart. Three items bought them a priceless 40+ year sisterhood. Pen. Paper. Stamp. Dorine and I met through a pen pal list in a children’s magazine. “Peach”, as her family calls her, was one of the first people who asked if I wanted to be her pen pal….
Slow down. Take smaller bites. Chew your food or you’ll choke. These table manners can be applied to a mindful approach to daily living. I’ve noticed how often I wake in the morning with a sudden flurry of thoughts, tasks and ideas. Within five minutes of semi-consciousness, I’ve loaded my mind with a heavy buffet…
In high school, we played a game called padiddle. A padiddle was a vehicle with one headlight. When we’d pass a padiddle, we’d try to be the first to lightly slug our driver in the shoulder and holler, “padiddle.” The padiddle winner was whoever got the most one-headlight slugs before we reached our destination. Our…