RIP Mary Oliver, Beloved Poet

January 18th, 2019
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Mary OliverMary Oliver/Photo Courtesy of The New York Times

Mary Oliver, described by The New York Times as “far and away, this country’s best-selling poet,” died yesterday of lymphoma at the age of 83.

If you do nothing else today, please go read one of Mary Oliver’s insightful poems and after you read it, allow your brain to meander around in her words and freely think about it.  Allow yourself to wallow in her beautiful and clear thoughts; as though you were floating along on a soft, fluffy cloud.

Mary Oliver is infamous for writing the following line of poetry:

Tell Read More

Staying Focused

September 6th, 2018
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Photo Courtesy of Victoria Magazine When I recently flipped my desk calendar over to the month of September, I also looked back to the previous summer months and the multitude of handwritten notes that were scattered on and around the pages reminding me about appointments and things to do. While I didn’t get as much accomplished during Summer as I had thought I would, I made pretty good progress. I’m sure I’m not alone in finding that projects don’t evolve as quickly or as easily as you would like them to.  There always seems to be unexpected steps that pop… Read More

A Monday Affirmation

November 16th, 2015
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  I find myself this Monday morning saying HELLO and embracing a calming thought that I intend to use to set the tone of my day. At the beginning of a new week, and especially in light of the tragic terrorist events in Paris, I find this to be healing. Perhaps you need a small break from world news or something else happening in your personal life. Let your mind momentarily take a break: It was the   outstretched   hands, the   giving, that   mattered.         ~ Annie Proulx… Read More

Lazing In A Summer Hammock

June 18th, 2015
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Summer is my very favorite time of year. I love the food.  I love the clothes.  I love the attitude of summer. And believe me when I tell you that I even love the hot temperatures of summer. I feel more alive in the summer and love the healing spirit of being outdoors on the longer days.   Summer’s amazing long days were brought to my mind yesterday morning as I listened to NPR. Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac came on and that made me feel better right away.  He is the American author, storyteller and creator/host of the hugely… Read More

This I Believe — Book Excerpt

April 10th, 2014
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“This I Believe” is a fantastic book that keeps on giving inspiration to me. I recently discovered this book quite by accident.  I was in Richmond, Virginia with my son and his girlfriend and we came upon a local non-profit that was giving away books for free.  I couldn’t believe it.  Free. Books. Free books are irresistible to me.  This would be similar to offering the editor of Vogue free clothes and accessories.  A room of tables full of all kinds of books just waiting for someone to come along and adopt them and take them home.  Where do I… Read More

Seamus Heaney

August 31st, 2013
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Seamus Heaney, a celebrated and grand Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, sadly died yesterday in a hospital in Dublin at the age of 74. Irish Poet And Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney To say that Heaney had a way with words is an understatement.  His powerful verse transported readers around the world to Ireland and sometimes to its rural landscape and the grind of its daily responsibilities.  To me, his phrasing always felt magical and lyrical no matter what subject he addressed. As a tribute to Heaney’s great talents, here is Digging, one of my… Read More

Two True Friends

August 21st, 2013
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Knowing that I have at least one person in my corner, always supporting me as a true friend, makes life feel less scary and full of many more possibilities.I can almost bear anything if I know my friends are holding my hands and understanding what I am trying to do and say.Friends for life, friends until the very end, this is the unique gift that Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe gave to each other. “Just Kids” is a beautifully, beautifully written memoir by Smith.  You may know of Patti Smith from her infamous Horses album and also from her magical… Read More

Within The Morning Light

August 8th, 2013
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I am an early riser.  I find the morning to be peaceful and so quiet.  I use my morning time to collect my thoughts about what I think is going to happen during that particular day and pray for other things that I hope will happen. So the morning is when a lot happens for me.  With my trusty cups of hot tea, I appreciate the solitude of the wee early hours of the day.  Quiet allows me to think and to breathe and pull myself together. I am always writing down blog ideas and collecting different points of view… Read More

I, Poet

May 7th, 2013
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When I was in high school, I used to write a lot of poetry.  I liked the deliberate way of choosing and using words and trying to find the right rhythm of each line.  I had a special notebook that I used to write down thoughts and words that I wanted to remember for images in future poems. I even entered a poetry contest in high school and surprisingly one of my poems won and was published in a national anthology of high school poetry.  That was a confidence booster! Then it was time to go to college.  My interests… Read More