Are you afraid to open your voice around others, Reader? I was (and still am a bit!). This is one of the biggest blocks to our freedom. For 22 years I was shut down to all forms of singing around others after being told by a friend I was off key. This was after many “accomplishments” with my voice in high school as a member of an elite traveling paid choir and a soloist (despite raging anxiety every time)! It affected way more than just my ability to sing. It affected the way I communicated...
18 days ago • 2 min read
A few years ago, Tyler (my beloved partner) and I were visiting friends who have walked the road of life for much longer than we have yet (and are deeply tied to the land). This wiser couple was laughing and tenderly responding to each other, while also having critical moments that didn’t hold resentment, just a practical respect and openness to each other’s needs and moments of truth. We loved what we were witnessing, so we asked them what they thought were some of the most important things...
21 days ago • 5 min read
HEY Reader, Are you feeling less sharp and focused than ever? Well, I am! And I don't like it! I’ve been feeling brain foggy, challenged in my ability to focus, and more forgetful… …maybe it’s perimenopause (maybe it’s maybelline), but I think it’s also the inundation of so many kinds of new technology… (and maybe we are being gaslit by all these other diagnoses). A few months ago, I picked up this incredible book called Human Being by Graham Lee. In each chapter, Lee explores 12 vital skills...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here. Hello Reader, I grew up singing. In churches, with my musical family around the piano, and in school choirs. I loved it (finding the perfect harmony is still one of the best things in the world), but always had intense anxiety during performances, often forgetting every single word I spent months memorizing. In college I damaged my voice, and was told I was off key, on a roadtrip with a friend. So I stopped singing for 22 years. Many times I...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
This week I had a real strong desire to ask you if you know why you’re here? I’d love to hear why you read my emails (like, why you’re here on this list), but even moreso, I’d love to hear why you’re here on this planet. In other words: What is your purpose? And if you don’t know, or it doesn’t sound grand in your mind, that’s ok. I’d love to hear that too. It’s ok to hit reply and tell me you don’t know, you’re tired too, it’s been a long year (and it’s only mid summer haha), and the...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Reader - It’s been another long week. It was a long hard Spring, and it's already been a long year... or five, hah. There's smoke from wildfires (due to long term mismanagement of land) making outdoor work a little more challenging than it already is in 90 degree humid weather... and there are creeks trickling with fresh cool water, bird songs in the morning, and bright beautiful flowers in our gardens. eye spy the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on the Echinacea! This is an extremely honest email...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here. Sitting on a raft, with a few family members, in the middle of the massive pacific ocean, I looked into the night sky to find the southern cross on the horizon… ...there it was… bright and beautiful… the beacon we desperately needed, to find our way home… Thankfully, this was just a simulation I attended a few summers ago… not a real life survival scenario!! The primary planetarium presentation and exhibit at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu,...
2 months ago • 7 min read
I was born on the banks of the Susquehanna River... well, in Harrisburg Hospital (Pennsylvania), to be precise, but close enough! I love that river like a birthplace. I still gasp every time I see her. In my early childhood we lived in the “creekhouse” along Conodoguinet Creek - the first Place I really remember. In that Place there was a gorgeous Weeping Willow with roots that dipped into the creek which gave me safe passage to climb over the edge and dip my toes into the gentle waters, or...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here. The area where I live is older than bones, and still relatively intact from when the continents were a unified landmass called Pangea. And I bet where you live has a wild history too, Reader. Last Monday, I hiked the White Rocks Trail with an incredible group of curious humans to step back, breathe, and invite the wisdom of the natural world. The land really held us and all our fears, questions and desires, in a way that nothing else can....
3 months ago • 5 min read