Like many people, I watched the Golden Globe Awards last Sunday night, and was blown away by Oprah Winfrey’s speech as she accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement. It was inspiring, empowering, and it made me feel as though, yes, a new day is dawning, and the world is about to change for the better. At no point did it occur to me, however, that this was a political speech, or the launch of a political career for Oprah. That changed the [...]
I’m one of those people who still makes New Year’s Resolutions, and they’ve always been the subject of one of my columns each year – a practice I plan to continue with my blog. When I sat down to write this morning, I was all set to write about my resolution to deal with “unfinished business” – projects started but not completed, unanswered email, and some boxes and bins that still haven’t been unpacked from our move. But then I got a phone call from [...]
I was on the treadmill at the health club the other day. Two women near me were talking about their holiday plans and preparations. One of them was going through the list of people she still needed to buy gifts for, and saying how difficult it was to figure out what to buy for her young nieces and nephews. Plus, she had to ship some of the gifts, and she wasn’t looking forward to standing in line at the post office. “That’s why Thanksgiving is [...]
For all those who are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday this weekend, I hope you’ve been having a wonderful time with family and friends, and that you have taken the time to recognize and acknowledge the many things in your life for which you are thankful. Gratitude is not something to be acknowledged on just one day or weekend during the year, of course. So I hope you will also take this opportunity to begin, right now, a practice of expressing gratitude every day – to [...]
“This must be what heaven is like.” It was in the middle of our book club meeting that one of our members made this comment. She wasn’t actually talking about our book club – although I certainly consider it heavenly to spend an afternoon or evening in thoughtful conversation with people whose company I enjoy and whose opinions I respect. However, her comment related to an excursion with an elderly relative. At one point during our meeting, our discussion led into stories about caring for [...]
It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I’m not so sure. I’m hosting our neighborhood book club meeting next week, and the book we’re reading this month is one I wrote. It includes 30 of my columns from the Chanhassen Villager – most of them dealing with nuggets of insight and inspiration that can be found in everyday life. Our book club meetings begin with lunch at noon, followed by the book discussion. Since several of my columns mention different foods [...]
“We don’t take a vow of poverty,” he told us. “We take a vow of simplicity.” The person speaking was a Trappist monk who was leading the retreat I attended at my church last weekend. At the start of the retreat, he shared some of his background, answered some questions, and corrected some mistakes and misconceptions about what his day-to-day life is like, adding that the beliefs many people have about monks and monasteries come more from Hollywood than they do from reality. I enjoyed [...]
The beautiful fall colors haven’t fully made their way here to Georgia yet, but there’s no mistaking the change of seasons. I’m not really crazy about the dark of night coming earlier and earlier in the day, but the brisk, cool weather is a welcome respite after the heat and humidity of summer. These are changes we expected, of course. But there have been a few surprises for us in our new home as summer turned to fall. One is the sparkle on the water [...]
I logged in almost 3,000 miles this week, starting with a two-hour drive to the Atlanta airport, then a flight to Minneapolis, and finally a scenic drive from there across the Canadian border and on to Winnipeg. There I spoke - along with two other women - for approximately 20 minutes to the Rotary Club of Winnipeg. After the meeting, we got back in the car and did the trip in reverse. Not all at once, but over the course of a few days. It [...]