You know how every once in a while you do something and the little voice inside says, ‘There. That’s it. That’s why you’re here.’ … and you get a warm glow in your heart because you know it’s true? Do more of that. Jacob Nordby Why am I here is a more impacting […]
Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. Maya Angelou Bryce Courtenay was certainly onto something when he wrote The Power of One. There’s something significant about someone having a vision for their life and sticking to it. There’s power in a story […]
The one thing you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can. Neil Gaiman, Make Good Art I just spent two days with six women on a writing retreat. We had classes […]
If today was the last day of your life, what would you change? When Elizabeth Gilbert quoted an older friend who said that every thoughtful woman, every ten years, should take some time to be alone with herself, in order to re-examine the direction of her own life, and to decide if any alterations need to […]
I’m in Onset, an historic Victorian waterfront community which has preserved most of the original storefronts and cottages. The Victorian charm of the era is evident in the many period homes here, including the one I am staying in. It’s also only two miles from the Cape Cod Canal. It’s a summer town, so it’s […]
This crash had been coming a long time and my retreat wasn’t a quiet withdrawal, it was more a full-blown defeat. My inner supply of whatever it was I needed to go on was done. Someone said to me recently, ‘But you don’t work. You don’t have a job.’ I know what he meant. I […]
‘Would you like a digestif? Limoncello? It’s on the house.’ The waiter, dressed impossibly tight, black jeans, white-tight t-shirt, thick leather belt, ankles bare above leather loafers, hipster beard, sculpted hair—you get the picture—tilts his head and we shrug a why not? ‘ Si. Grazie. We would love limoncello.’ I sighed. How perfect. The sky […]
The Music of Life: Writing in Italy The pop of a cork from a Prosecco bottle. Soft, murmuring Italian voices. Cucina. Mangiare. Si Grazie. Bene. Words, food, sharing, friendship in a bookshop café in Florence. My friend and I sit and write. An iced café, served in an Italian wine glass, invites us to sip […]
Have you ever walked into a room and felt naked? Have you ever shown anyone something you created and cringed? Have you ever felt like running away and hiding in shame? Being a creative person means being vulnerable enough to enter the room and be naked (creatively) without shame. Elizabeth Gilbert tells us that fierce […]
