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Good Medicine

Yesterday we got together at our house with our children and grandchildren for family game day. It was Good Medicine for the soul. We had sandwiches and salad for lunch (easy-peasy, almost no preparation needed). Before, during and after lunch we caught up on what everyone was doing. I got to hear about the project in engineering class that my grandson has been working on. And I caught up on what my granddaughter’s favorite recent activities. We played board games and card games. But most of all we laughed and laughed and laughed together. And hugged and hugged. I got Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

A Taste of Spring

I spent the morning at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Spring Flower Show which opened today. It was a beautiful Taste of Spring I got together with an old friend and we wandered, chatted, admired plants, sat, and talked some more. I’ve been going to the Arboretum’s Spring Flower Show for a number of years now. Each year its different. Some years I like it more than others. But I am always amazed at the imagination and design skill of those who put this flower show together. It was lovely to wander around looking at all of the green things growing. Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Little by Little

My photo/essay handmade book project continues to move forward Little by Little. I’ve discovered that I seem to work in spurts of furious activity followed by avoidance, anguish, and procrastination. Then after a week or more, one day I tire of my angst and drama about the project and begin thinking about it again, watching my two book-making online classes, and planning. I procrastinate a little longer and then finally begin working furiously on the next right steps. This week I decided to use some cotton hand-made watercolor sheets that I had on hand, as pages for my first sample Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Consider the Breath

On this cold February morning I can see my breath condense on the window pane as I breathe out on it. I begin to… Consider the Breath. It is both astonishing and ordinary to realize that the breath happens without any thought or effort on our part. I don’t have to think, “Breathe in,” each time I take a breathe or “Breathe out,” each time I release a breath. It just happens. It is as if the breath breathes me. Similarly my heart beats without any reminder from my conscious mind, speeding up when I am exerting effort, slowing when Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Malleable Meaning

I read an article this morning about how we humans make meaning. The way we interpret what we experience affects the meaning we experience in our lives. Because we interpret everything we experience through the brain networks created through our lifetime experience, in a way we create our own reality. Malleable Meaning Though meaning is not infinitely malleable, it’s much more malleable than most of us think. For the most part, meaning-making is automatic and outside your awareness. When you were a child, other people curated the environment that wired experiences into your brain, seeding your brain’s internal model. You’re Read more…

By Marilyn, ago