You Can’t Cross This Off Your List

You Can’t Cross This Off Your List

It’s only two minutes, but I struggle. My fingers fidget as if my thoughts are pounding the last miles of a half-marathon. The tug of war between noise and stillness. For 120 seconds, this is what happens inside my head. I need to get milk. Be quiet, you are trying to...
Intention Is Not Enough

Intention Is Not Enough

The past weekend, overwrought with activities and “busyness,” the discontent crawled on my skin late Sunday evening. Distracted and irritated, the weight of saying yes to certain activities came at the cost of sacrificing solitude. Even though quiet is my...

2015 Word of the Year

For the last few years, instead of adopting resolutions, I pick a word of the year. In 2012, I chose compassion. In 2013, I focused on gratitude. Last year I shifted my intent toward laughter. This year I struggled to find the right word. I contemplated abandoning my...
Finding Quiet in a Spiral of Noise

Finding Quiet in a Spiral of Noise

  The hour is late. My fingers glide over the keyboard. I type a few sentences. Then I hit delete. The blank screen stares at me like a pair of  headlights on a dark road. Struggling, I start again. The pile of books on my desk are a distraction. Lena...

Taking Small Steps

I am siting in the middle of my guest room closet, my legs crossed Indian style with my eyes closed. For the next thirty minutes, my house is my own and the closet becomes my cave of choice. After reading and contemplating meditation, I’ve decided that this new way of...