There is a grateful hush that settles over the world just before dawn. It’s a softness so profound it feels like the sky is holding its breath. And if you happen to be standing outside during the Perseid Meteor Shower, you might witness a miracle: a streak of light, sudden and silent, cutting through the […]

Sometimes you round a bend in the road, or pause mid-trail, and the world suddenly opens before you. Mountains rise with silent grandeur. Clouds billow and float like prayers. Water holds the reflection of sky and stone. And for a moment, you are utterly still, because the view before you isn’t just beautiful. It’s majestic. […]

There is something wondrous that fills me with gratitude upon seeing a field of wild lupine in full bloom. These tall, joyful flowers seem to rise out of the earth in celebration, as if nature herself has thrown her arms open in delight. There’s no pruning, no fertilizing, no manicuring, no planning. Just wildness, order, […]

I am deeply grateful for this old black-and-white photo – worn at the corners, soft with age. It’s a kindergarten class picture from Addison Elementary School in Palo Alto, California. These little girls are me and my best friend, Debby. We were just two five-year-olds unaware that we’d just begun a lifelong friendship. Today, I’m […]

In the rush of everyday life, we often forget that simply being here is a miracle. Our breath, our beating hearts, the rhythm of waking up each day – all of these are astonishing gifts, even when life feels overwhelming or uncertain. Today’s message of gratitude is a simple but profound one: Thank you for […]

There is a moment, sometimes fleeting and sometimes full, when everything slows. The air seems to hush. The thoughts that usually clamor for attention soften and drift. There is no urgency, no plan, no past or future to manage. Just presence. Just breath. Just now. This is the still point T.S. Eliot described. It’s not […]

In our house in the Santa Cruz Mountains, surrounded by wildness, forest, and fog, there’s an inner sanctuary where a very different kind of energy lives. It purrs. It prowls. It naps in sunbeams and knocks things off tables. It curls up close, demands attention, and exudes mystery. This is the kingdom of the cats. […]

There’s a softness to summer evenings that feels like an embrace. It’s not just the warmth in the air or the long light stretching across the landscape. It’s something quieter, more internal. A slowing down. A chance to take a breath before the day ends. A golden pause. I often find myself watching the light […]

There are some companions who never use words, and yet they understand everything. Toby and Piper were those companions for me. For fifteen years, they hiked beside me every morning on the mountain trails behind our home in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Loyal, joyful, and deeply attuned to the rhythms of nature and my own […]

Sometimes, the world crashes in… literally. Sometimes, it’s not just one hard thing, but a wave of them: one after another, before you’ve even had a chance to catch your breath. That’s what the past few weeks have felt like for me. A summer that began with warm sunshine and hopeful plans has suddenly become […]

Celebrating the Magic of Shared Vision Gratitude sometimes arrives like a lightning strike — sudden, clear, illuminating. That’s how I felt working side-by-side with Chieri Abe, a brilliant 21-year-old Menlo College senior, on our article Navigating the Tech Job Market in 2025: A Five-Decade Perspective. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7335681674443137024/ What began as a simple cross-generational conversation – a […]

A Celebration of Summer’s Warm Embrace There’s a moment in deep summer, usually mid-July, when the world just glows. Flowers burst with color, the days stretch long into golden evenings, and a kind of timelessness washes over everything. You can feel it in your bones: a slow, sweet permission to exhale. To notice. To smile […]

There are people whose lives create ripples far beyond their time on Earth. Nelson Mandela is one of those souls. He walked through fire and emerged not burned, but tempered, with dignity, compassion, and the unwavering belief in the power of forgiveness. On this Nelson Mandela International Day, I pause to reflect with deep gratitude […]

Too Much of a Good Thing If you’ve ever opened a drawer and been greeted by a tangle of mismatched socks, you’re not alone. Somehow, they multiply. That stack is a reminder of children growing up, laundry cycles interrupted, and the slow march of seasons. But beyond the humor and the head-scratching, that sock pile […]

There is a place beyond right and wrong.Beyond the need to be correct or to convince.Beyond the push and pull of duality… where one side must win and the other must lose. It’s not far away, but it takes courage to go there.That place is still. It is sacred. It is simple. And it is […]

Some miracles are loud: the ones we cheer for, celebrate, and post about. But others are quieter. They take place deep inside the soul—when something soft opens where a wound once was. When the heart chooses release instead of revenge. When we let go of our grip on being right and reach, instead, for peace. […]

After a season of upheaval, we often hear the phrase “bounce back.”But I’ve come to believe this part of the journey isn’t about bouncing.It’s about tending… tending to the soul that has just been cracked open by a miracle. And yes, survival is a kind of miracle. Healing is too. So is feeling again.Even when […]

Living Freedom from the Inside Out I’ve spent much of my life marching for peace, for civil rights, for women’s rights, for equality. I marched as a high school student at Palo Alto High in the late ’60s. I marched again during college. And I’ve marched ever since. I carried signs. I walked in solidarity. […]

In the natural world, one of the most astonishing transformations is that of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. We marvel at the end result, the delicate wings, vibrant colors, and graceful flight, but what’s far less visible, and far more mysterious, is the journey that unfolds in the cocoon. This post was born from a […]

A Month Full of Meaning June came bursting with life.The light stretched long. The gardens bloomed. The world filled with song, celebration, remembrance, and ritual. And now, as the month gently draws to a close, we pause – not to say goodbye, but to gather what it gave. Gratitude is how we hold on to […]