How to get off and finally find peace — Are you addicted to drama? I used to be, but I didn’t know it. Before I learned about the drama triangle I thought that I was just responding to life the way anyone would — the same way everyone around me seemed to be responding. …

A quiet rant — I have been feeling sad lately. This year will be my 60th birthday. I have no problem with growing older: I like myself more now than I ever did when I was younger. I am healthy and active, my life is interesting and full. Nevertheless, the realization is growing in…

Keeping your peace of mind: That’s priceless — There’s a classic Buddhist story about two monks who come upon a woman at the edge of a river. One of the monks carries her across and they continue on their way. Several miles on, the other monk turns to the first and says, “How could you do that? We’ve…

My experience trying to enter Bali during the pandemic — First, I have to squirmingly acknowledge that this story is only possible because of First World privileges that allow me to travel when much of the world remains closed. But I didn’t set out to be that person! …

Taking the loooong view can put this life into perspective I didn’t grow up believing in reincarnation. Then, when I was 22, a man that I might very well have married died in a car crash. As I grappled with that, the only thing that brought me comfort, the only…

A cautionary tale and some hard-won advice — I was sputtering in mostly-mute terror as the biggest spider I’d ever seen raced up my daughter’s back toward her unsuspecting head. My husband and our guide looked around wildly, searching for the cause of my terror. Let’s face it: we were all on high alert after the nearly-stepping-on-a-Mozambican-spitting-cobra incident…

6 things to think about when traveling the world long-term — In a couple of months, I’m setting off to travel, full-time and indefinitely, around the world. I’m not a novice traveler: I’ve been in 50 states, 34 countries, and six continents, besides living as an ex-pat in Europe and Australia. But this feels different — travel will essentially be my…

Why you should read “Gift from the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh — I don’t remember when I first read this slim book of quiet wisdom and poetic vision. Published in 1955, it was a hit with my mother’s generation, and after I was married, I discovered that my mother-in-law kept a battered first edition of the book by her bedside. …