About Marcia Smalley

The start of the year is a popular time to reflect. So, I’m inclined to be a little philosophical as we greet 2021 while pulling ourselves out of the abyss of the past year and catching our collective breath. I know there’s nothing…
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Our life choices either deplete us or nourish us. They affect us physically, emotionally and spiritually, usually all at the same time. We can feel our choices down to the bone, in our gut and around our heart space. Our bodies speak to us…
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We knew what bringing home a puppy means because we’d done it before. (And that time we had brought home two!) We had no illusions: puppies are a lot of work, they demand most of your time, it won’t be easy…
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I never used to think of myself as creative. Artists are creative, and artists paint. I can’t even draw. Read More

The Heroine’s (or Hero’s) Journey is a recognizable framework. It’s been used in myths and stories throughout the ages and studied by scholars like Joseph Campbell. In a nutshell, a regular person leading an ordinary life unexpectedly…
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Life is short. Take the trip. Buy the shoes. Eat the cake. (Anonymous)

The older I get, the harder it is to argue with this advice. Knee deep into my sixth decade, I’ve gathered a few more pearls of wisdom along the way. These lessons are helping me blaze an easier trail through my journey of aging. Read More

I remember being disappointed when I turned 50. I felt like Oprah had let me down. I wasn’t coming into my own body the way all the magazines said I would, the way I was ‘supposed’ to. Read More

The road I live on isn’t paved. It stretches for a mile – a dusty avenue wide enough for two vehicles, and treacherous after a heavy rain.

I knew this a dozen years ago when we found our property, which ultimately became our home, at the end of this road. But I never loved the drive in. My aging compact car rumbled fiercely every foot of the way; forget ever staying clean. Read More

Back in February, I didn’t realize the timeliness of the article I wrote about resilience and the lessons we learn that help us bounce back from difficult days. Here we are now, in a crisis bigger than any of us imagined a month ago…
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Do you ever wonder how you’ve made it this far with everything life’s thrown at you. You might credit your staying power to luck or to chance. You might thank divine intervention. Maybe all of the above…

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