Three lessons I learned in 2017

Three lessons I learned in 2017

If you are reading this, you survived the madness that is Christmas. I hope you enjoyed it. I typically take the week between Christmas and New Year’s to look back over the year—the experiences, the accomplishments, the lessons learned, and the things I hope to improve in the coming year. For me, this is usually…

Can we do good without attachment to the outcome?

Can we do good without attachment to the outcome?

We sincerely love beings and desire that they be well and that they be free from suffering, but we also accept that happiness and suffering are impermanent experiences that arise and fall outside of our control. This doesn’t mean that we don’t act on our love, or that acting is pointless. We act with kindness;…

It’s all about the present: 3 simple mindfulness exercises

It’s all about the present: 3 simple mindfulness exercises

It might sound a little selfish, but this holiday season I’m all about the present. Okay, not the present that comes in a pretty package—though I’m not opposed to that kind either—what I’m talking about is mindfulness, being fully present in the present. Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without…

The magic coffee bean

The magic coffee bean

I’m convinced that the deceptively simple-looking coffee bean has magical powers. How else could someone born and raised in a predominantly Mormon state (where coffee drinking is taboo) fall so hopelessly, madly in love? Because of my strong affection for the magic bean, I was a little afraid to ask the question: Is coffee good…

My experience with Orangetheory Fitness

My experience with Orangetheory Fitness

Two months ago, I lamented on this blog that I was bored with my go-to exercise routines and wanted to mix things up. Three weeks later, I still hadn’t done anything about it, so I put “Try a new workout” on my Fall Bucket List. It would be another six weeks before I accomplished that goal,…

Managing the most wonderful-ly insane time of the year

Managing the most wonderful-ly insane time of the year

Halloween is over. Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. We are officially in the holiday season. The season of joy and gratitude, certainly. But if we’re honest, for many of us, it is also the season of anxiety and excess. Too much activity…too much food…too much drink…too much spending…too many expectations. Just typing that paragraph…

The amazing versatile pumpkin, a true super food

The amazing versatile pumpkin, a true super food

If you’ve been reading this blog for the past couple of weeks, you know I’m obsessed with pumpkin in all its forms, so I was surprised and delighted when I read my fellow bloggers’ fall bucket lists and saw how many of them had pumpkin-related items on their lists. Of course, pumpkin is the ultimate…

Meditation for beginners: advice from a beginner

Meditation for beginners: advice from a beginner

If you think meditation is just for hippies or new-age spiritualists, bear with me for a minute while I try to change your mind. I am a busy executive, writer, wife, and grandmother who has personally discovered the real-world benefits of meditation in my daily life. But I’m not just asking you to take my…

Taking loving kindness on the road

Taking loving kindness on the road

Something frequently happens to me when I get behind the wheel of a car. I turn from loving and accepting to irritable and judgmental. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a road rager, but I definitely say things from the isolated comfort of my car that I would never say in another setting. For…