Since I write every week about how much I love and honor art in all its forms, you might be surprised that I don’t consume as much of certain types as you might think. Many of my friends admit to keeping the radio or TV on most of the day when they are at home...
Last week, I wrote about how art saves us. A reader e-mailed to share how listening to music every day kept her company during the isolation of COVID. She’s older and has health issues, so has spent much more time alone these past couple of years than she probably would have otherwise. I asked myself...
So often I’ve said, “All I want is for my kids to be happy.” What mother wouldn’t? We humans ask each other all the time, “Are you happy?” The assumption is if you answer no, you’re doing something wrong. You need to get back on the happiness track. For almost 55 years now, I’ve believed...
I had a weird thought this week . . . with all the talk about “finding your true self” and all the books and methods that teach you how to do that, what if finding your true self is as simple as setting aside a few days to be totally alone and see who you...
When my kids were little, I taught them to say the words “Stop, please” if anyone in the family was doing something that bothered or upset them. I made it clear they had to say the exact words in the exact order. They couldn’t just yell, “Stop it.” Because the words themselves were the cue...
This post originally ran April 27, 2019 When people ask what my blog is about, I often say it’s an inspirational blog to help people tap into and support their inner artist. “Oh, that’s not for me,” some reply. “I’m not creative. And I’m certainly not an artist.” I’m always a little surprised by that...
My husband laughed last night when I said, “It’s so much work just being alive.” I was describing my day, in which I’d awakened with a list in my head of all the things I was going to get done, and by the end of the day, only half of them were completed. In the...
A friend was telling me about a specific regret she has regarding a family member. It surfaces now and then, and when it does, it loops through her head all day. She knows it’s not “healthy” to dwell on that regret, since there’s nothing that can be done about it now, but she can’t help...
Dr. Stuart Brown, author of Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, has defined eight “play personalities.” You know me, I couldn’t resist taking the quiz to discover mine. The types are: the joker, the kinesthete, the explorer, the director, the competitor, the collector, the artist/creator, and the storyteller....
This post originally ran Aug. 24, 2019 I’ve wanted to write a novel about my Mexican grandmother since I was fifteen. I’ve known all along what the first line would be: “When I was nine years old, Poncho Villa rode into town and killed a merchant in the street.” Whenever I think of that line,...