Blog
"and so become yourself, because the past is just a goodbye."
- Crosby, Stills and Nash
Villa Mangku
The first morning at Villa Mangku, a snake appeared. Dark and curled on the cool white tile of the kitchen floor. My bare feet, suddenly vulnerable and exposed. I mistook the snake as a bad omen,...
Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it.” Anis Nin
I remember my first friend. He understood me and made me laugh. And he was completely imaginary.
In my early memories I am always alone in nature, making crowns of long spears of emerald grass...
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about. ~ rumi
In the morning I sit and drink black coffee and watch the farmers work the rice fields. It looks like unimaginably tedious,...
humans go silent
all else awakens, sings out
it’s not us. rejoice.
On the morning of Nyepi I wake as my dream lingers, its vivid palette fading like a painting left out in the sun.
First, I remember the rice fields. It’s no wonder they now appear in my dreams.
They are...
Tirta Empul Temple
I’m not good at this. But it’s my turn.
I place my palms together and hold them to my forehead. The water is cooler than I expected. The air ripe with smoky-sweet incense.
I’ve watched others as I waited. They know what to do. Prayers ready....
The heron will have one foot on land, and one in the water. Ancient cultures believed that the heron acts as a majestic guide and signifies liminality – a crossing into an in-between space – a space that is neither here nor there.
“Liminality (from the Latin word...
"You can have it all. Just not at once."
Oprah
(She must not have been referring to Nutella)
My Nutella Epiphany
I was spooning Nutella into my mouth, trying not to drip onto my microfiber pillow, when I had an epiphany: we can’t all be our best, most out-of-our-comfort-zone, badass selves...
“There are two types of speakers, those that are nervous, and those that are liars.”
-Mark Twain
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once mused, “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right?...
“Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question.”
– e.e cummings
When my son was three, I asked him an unusual question.
I didn’t expect a compelling answer. Not even close, I mean, he was three, drank from a sippy cup and all his shoes had...
These are the most simple yet powerful strategies I’ve used that have worked for me to overcome my fear of networking.
There are a ton of tips out there and believe me, I’ve tried them all.
But these five strategies simply evolved naturally over time. Maybe some will work for you?...
"I would prefer not to.”
ā Herman Melville, Bartleby the Scrivener
For most of my adult life, I equated attending a networking event to torture. With name tags.
I’m an introvert with a history of social anxiety and decades of battling a stutter.
For me, an ideal Saturday night always...
