Alive and Well, and Living Well

In October of 2013 I discovered the concept of a "Life Well-Lived" List, and I really embraced the concept of the anti-bucket list. Instead of listing all the things I have yet to achieve or experience, I'm far more interested in exploring the things that I have done as I experiment, adventure and experience my …

Burnout and Emotional Recovery

A few years ago, I got very stressed, and that stress caused a very big flare of arthritis. The good news is that the flare allowed me to get a diagnosis for the variety of complaints I'd had over the years prior to that time. The bad news is that the stress itself and the …

What the heck is ASMR?

The acronym ASMR stands for "Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response." The best description I've ever seen of it is this video here.  The gist is that certain triggers cause good, relaxing feelings of "tingles" and "shivers" that run down a person's spine. ASMR is generally a pleasant, soothing sensation, and it helps people get to sleep …

Why I’m Getting Weight Loss Surgery – And Why I’m Talking About It.

In about a month, I will be having a vertical sleeve gastrectomy - commonly known as the "gastric sleeve" bariatric surgery. This name is not because a "sleeve" is added, but because a "sleeve" is all that's left of what was once a stomach pouch. In about a week, I will be starting the surgery …

Cut Every To Do List in Half

I really got fired up by the Quest's MAKE week prompts. I walked away with five major projects that I wanted to achieve in 2019, and all their milestones. FIVE PROJECTS.  I've inked the goalposts into my 2019 planner. I had this list all prepared to share, and then I remembered my 2018 lesson learned: that …

I don’t know the answer yet. Do I?

TL;DR - What if I commit to trying out poetry every day? Either reading it, or writing it, as the day and my energy allows. Seeking it or finding it. Playing hide and go seek with it. Dancing with poems. Maybe experiencing aesthetic arrest. Maybe creating it. 

#WeQuest One Day at a Time

Wonder and Creativity, beauty and purpose did not come from DOING or BEING. It didn't come from my physical body.  It came from my SELF. From the acts of observation and patience and understanding. 

Envisioning my #BestYear as #WeQuest

This morning starts the Quest for 2019, and I'm already whirling with ideas to get started. (It's not too late to join, by the way!) I'm sitting with the prompt - envisioning my best self looking back upon a best year for 2019, and I recall that I did this a year ago. I even …

Join Me on a Quest

December is always when I do that stuff the best. I can hunker down and really make sure I'm still pointed toward my own true north star, and not drifting around somewhere in someone else's expectations.  That's what the Quest is for.

I don’t know where to begin

I know I need to write about this in order to absorb it more completely. That until I try to wrap words around these events, I won't know what I think about them. So, I'm coming to this blank screen, and this empty desk to write. I don't know where it will end up. Or …