My One Little Word: Ordinary

The past year has been far from ordinary, to say the least. You may recall that 2022 began with my husband Rich suffering a heart attack. After two heart catheterizations, he improved quickly, but other medical issues ensued throughout the year including COVID. Rich never complains, and his optimistic outlook is one reason he is back in good health now. In the midst of emergency room visits, doctors’ appointments, and fear, I discovered the sacredness of the ordinary. So many times, I prayed for just an ordinary day, and when we had one, I sent up prayers of gratitude. I Read More

My One Little Word for 2022: Pause

Pause seems like such an innocuous word. But I contend it has great power when we: Pause to be grateful Pause to reflect Pause to forgive Pause to listen Pause to enjoy Pause before answering Pause before reacting Pause to appreciate Pause to breathe In 2022 I hope my One Little Word will be powerful. Not in physical strength, not in intellectual prowess, not in a domineering or superior kind of way. Quite the opposite. I hope it will help me become more humble, grow in compassion, appreciate what is before me. I guess it’s another way of being in Read More

My “One Little Word” for 2021 – Listen

“We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.” ~ Zeno of Citium as quoted by Diogenes Laertius My “One Little Word” for 2021—LISTEN—grabbed me and held on since last summer when I created my vision board. Usually, my vision boards are filled with words and writing goals, but not this one. There are few words, and somehow, “listen” showed up on it twice. In addition, last night I opened two books of poetry to read, and “listen” grabbed me again. In the first poem by the late Jon Tribble, “The Divine,” the Read More

My One Little Word for 2020: Simplify

Happy New Year! My One Little Word for 2020 crept into my brain in October. I recognized it immediately as such: Simplify. As Henry David Thoreau said, “Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.” In October my OLW seemed clear to me, vivid, and solid. A perfect word that would look neat and orderly in a blog post. Simplify. But it isn’t that simple. (Perhaps my brain, just coming off a three-week haze of sinus infection turned acute bronchitis-on-the-edge-of-pneumonia-during-the-holidays, is making this more difficult.) As I write this on New Year’s Eve, having taken my third to last Read More

One Little Word … or Maybe Two?

Long before the end of 2018, I knew what my One Little Word for 2019 would be: Balance. Publishing two books in one year took a toll on me, and I knew I had to do things differently from now on. Elizabeth Gilbert would call me a “jackhammer” because I drill down on my passion for writing to the exclusion of everything else. I get so caught up in my writing, or editing, or revising that I can’t believe it’s bedtime and I haven’t moved from my desk all day. When I’m writing, I set a timer so I’ll get Read More