Sharing insights and inspiration that happen over a cup of tea

Sharing insights and inspiration that happen over a cup of tea

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Category: Time

  • Entering the fall season with reflection, gratitude and a quiet spirit

    It’s funny how often we come across insights that resonate profoundly with our circumstances at different times in our lives. Today, I found one in my in-box, in the form of a newsletter, “Living in Season,” by Waverly Fitzgerald: “I feel that urge that so many of us feel in September to begin a new…

  • A small thank-you can make a big difference!

    During my visit to North Carolina for my granddaughter’s third birthday I had the chance to sit in the upstairs gallery of the gymnastic studio and watch this petite whirlwind and her classmates run, climb, tumble and spin their way to pure enjoyment. At several points during the class, when the instructor had assisted my…

  • Sorrow lifts when we surrender our memories to God

    Recently, during an extended time at home recuperating from a medical procedure, I whiled away a Sunday afternoon watching a marathon of Mario Lanza movies. I grew up with Mario Lanza, the renowned American actor, tenor and opera singer who was known as one of the great romantic performers of his time, because my mother,…

  • Taking a page from Things My Parents Taught Me

    A mother never knows just how much attention her children are paying to her, but every once in a while she discovers they know her better than she thinks they do. That was my discovery when my son, an eighth grade language arts teacher sent me an email explaining that they were writing memoirs in…

  • ‘A perfect dose of grace’ for all seasons

     This small but powerful book of stories is the perfect read for you when you want to reward yourself with some well-deserved quiet time! Rabbi Irwin Kula, author of “Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life” wrote, “If you want to find God, know love, and truly understand these are the same, read this beautiful book. But be prepared…

  • Slacking is an art still being perfected

    I have come to believe that anyone who has paid the exorbitant price of higher education should be  rewarded with something similar to frequent flier miles so that when age, wisdom and relevance kick in former students could re-take, at no charge, those courses which they had blown off in youthful ignorance the first time around. If that…

  • LIving with the paradox of a sunset

    It seems an unlikely marriage, beauty and despair, but creations of the human spirit in crisis are among the most meaningful and beautiful in existence. Art, music, literature, even prayer, flowing from a heart of pain, resonate with creatures who must face their mortality with every passing moment. What are we to do with this…

  • Time is an investment in love’s garden

    In a town near mine, there is a home unique in this area of sandy soil. It hosts a lovely English cottage garden. I noticed it when I stopped in a store nearby. An elderly gentleman was wielding pruning shears, preparing the garden for the full bloom of summer, when he caught me admiring his little…

  • Losing love changes things

    It doesn’t seem possible that my dad could be gone 16 years already. But every year, as Valentine’s Day rolls around, I am reminded of the last Valentine’s Day we spent together, him in a Hospice bed, me in tears hoping that he could at least sense how much I loved him. He would die…

  • Life is what happens when we’re not looking

      I recently realized that this has been the fifteenth year that I have been writing my syndicated column, Things My   Father Taught Me. It doesn’t seem possible that so many years have passed since my dad died, or that I have written more than 500 columns as a tribute to him. During those 15 years,…