We are biologically programed to fear death. All animals are. By fear I mean that automatic response of fight, flee or freeze when faced with a threat to survival. A shadow passes over and the lizard freezes. It passes again and the lizard scurries under a rock. If caught, the lizard will struggle and even […]
September is the month we associate with going back to school. You can feel it in the air, see it in the crowded streets and hear it in shops. Vacation is over! Time to get back to work! Interestingly, the word school comes from the Greek word scholē, meaning leisure. Apparently, back in the days […]
August contains a powerful lesson in impermanence. Each year, school-aged children across the country foresee the ending of their summer vacation. It is a huge loss of freedom and play. This early conditioning of the school/summer cycle is so deeply etched in our psyches that as adults we still feel the loss, even if we […]
Almost every summer for the past 18 years, my husband and I have driven north to Oregon to spend time with his parents at their summer cabin. The cabin is remote, situated 4 miles down a dirt road, deep in a pine forest not far from the Deschutes River. It is so quiet you can […]
June is for fathers. When I was a child, my father took my sisters and me model airplane flying. Youngest and smallest, I was terrified of crashing them, their whining motors tugging at my grip. My father guided me, holding my hand around the control handle until I had the feel of it and then […]
May is for Mother’s Day. Mother, mommy, mom. She is our first relationship in life. She carried us for 9 months inside her body. She birthed us, fed us, kept us warm and safe — to the extent that she was able. She also taught us about love, forgiveness and how to be. We have […]
April 1st – April Fool’s Day. The Fool inspired this month’s illustration. The Fool is the perfect next step to last month’s blog: A Leap of Trust. In the Tarot, the Fool is the first card in the deck. The number zero. It represents the individual at the outset of the journey. The Fool is […]
This month’s illustration is inspired by a card I made for my sister who was born on February 29 — a Leap Year baby. Leap Year is an interesting name for a year that has one extra day. Specifically, it refers to the jump in the progression of calendar days that happens from year to […]
Inspiration for this month’s illustration came from a recent dream. In the dream a voice explains: Occasionally, sea turtle eggs find their way into eagles nests. When they hatch . . . The voice trails off as a baby sea turtle falls from the nest. The dream illustrates the ludicrousness of trying to live like […]
In the dark of December comes the gradual returning of light. It is a time for celebration and joy. One way to express that joy is to sing in community. I love to sing. I guess that’s because I grew up in a family that sang. Throughout my early childhood, my parents and two sisters […]
