A morning stop at Starbucks, inside a grocery store. Three women are grouped together, laughing loudly and it’s clear they’ve just bumped into one another. “I can believe it’s you!” and, “You look fantastic!” amidst cackles and hugs. It’s a nice scene, and by the time I leave with my latte they Continue reading “Leave An Impression”
Who Will Pick Up The Garbage?
A boy in a dragon costume is sitting at the top of the children’s slide. Another child in kangaroo pajamas is carefully traversing the rope bridge, while nearby a girl with cat ears is being chased around the rocks by her father. I’m at the Boulder Public Library looking out a window and taking in Continue reading “Who Will Pick Up The Garbage?”
Left On The Clock
Someday I am going to die. This isn’t coming from a morbid place; rather, I find it compelling to recognize at some unknown future date I’m going to lose everyone I love. I have had thousands of chances to tell the people I hold dear that I love them – in a way they can feel it; in a way I can feel it – Continue reading “Left On The Clock”
Being Genuine
When we are genuine with our friends, our family, our partners—anybody—we give them permission to be genuine, too.
Just what does being ‘genuine’ mean, anyway?
There are several good articles about this topic, including this one from Continue reading “Being Genuine”
I Am Love
At the yoga studio where I practice, one of the instructors a few months ago added a silent meditation with two components. First, as we settled into a stretching pose, she asked us to count on one hand five things we were grateful for. “I am grateful for … my health, my family, personal freedom, Continue reading “I Am Love”
One Thing My Kids Gave Me
One of the hardest realizations I have come to in my adult life, was realizing several years ago that I was not being completely genuine with myself. In my work, in my marriage, in my relationships with my friends and my children, I had compromised myself over and over again for decades, Continue reading “One Thing My Kids Gave Me”
Dude. Be Nice
Today is my youngest brother’s 40th birthday.
He’s a person who puts words into action. He’s one of the strongest people I know, a devoted father and reliable friend. He earns trust wherever he goes in part because he operates with such calm competence. Yet he carries Continue reading “Dude. Be Nice”
Nexus
One of my favorite expressions in the mountains turns out also to be a pretty nice metaphor for moving through what I hope is the middle of my life. One of my first friends in Colorado, Brent, introduced me to mountaineering, and we’ve been up several mountains together, including Continue reading “Nexus”
Mind Distortion
I believe it’s possible for our experiences to deviate from reality. After all, everything we experience is processed through our mind, so it stands to reason the mind itself can get in the way, distorting the truth of an experience. I’ve seen this in my own life: I tell myself a story and keep Continue reading “Mind Distortion”
The Cutting Board
I’ve come to learn just a small amount about cooking in the past few years. Still an absolute novice, I stick with simple recipes and a small number of ingredients. Nonetheless I’ve discovered a new appreciation for this transformative work in the kitchen. Long ago, I was presented with the gift of a cutting board from Continue reading “The Cutting Board”
Tastes Like More
I was about 10 years old eating a piece of pie – I think it was cherry pie – at my grandparent’s house. Maybe it was Memorial Day and the Cubs were on TV in the other room while I devoured bite after bite. The other grand-kids were gathered around the kitchen table and my grandpa, Val Mehler, was Continue reading “Tastes Like More”
The Other Side of the World
I had to travel to the other side of the world to actually feel it. I had always understood it, intellectually, and we frequently talk about it as if it’s a given (because it is). But being that far away, I could feel in my belly that the things I truly loved and needed were not there; they were at home. There is Continue reading “The Other Side of the World”
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