Finding Happiness

It feels like the world is one big performance.
Everywhere you look, people are trying to look fine, sound fine, be fine – even when the world feels anything but. Between the headlines, the chaos, and the things we can’t unsee, it’s easy to feel worn thin before the holidays even begin…

When I was a young girl, still in the single digits of life, I dreamed of walking onto the stage alone to sing for an audience. In my imagination, I grudgingly allowed for there also to be a pianist onstage with me. As a very shy person whose musical vision…

Although many of us women after 50 continue to juggle life’s roles and are content doing so, we find ourselves reflecting on what we might want to do for ourselves as we move forward in our next phase of life. All of the women with whom I work, have expressed…

The empty nest isn’t just about missing your kids. It’s about missing yourself. For decades, you knew exactly who you were – the one they needed, the one who kept things running, the one who showed up no matter how tired or invisible you felt. Your days were measured in loads…

After four decades of regular workouts, my body has decided to defend itself by developing osteoarthritis. Every workout is now a rousing game of Will It Hurt If I Do This? Oh, what fun.
But unlike a real game show, no prizes are awarded…

There’s a myth about growing older: that life shrinks with age. That our world gets smaller, our opportunities fewer, and our days predictable. But the truth? For women over 60, this season can be the most expansive, creative, and fulfilling of all. The kids are grown…

Fall is here, and I admit that I have mixed feelings about its arrival. Many people say fall is their favorite season and why not? The days cool down, the trees change colors, the air feels crisp and sometimes carries the aroma of burning leaves…

Have you ever noticed that happiness doesn’t just “happen,” even when life is going well? Maybe you have a lovely home, good friends, and plenty of reasons to feel grateful – yet the spark just isn’t there. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you…

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say we’re living in troubling times. But rather than spending our time getting into all of that, I prefer instead we turn our attention in an even more important direction: to our own experience in it all…

At 67, Clare realized that she’d been asking herself the wrong question her entire life. Fall was settling into Oregon, the morning light filtering through Douglas firs where the first leaves were beginning to turn. The season here held a quiet grace, so different from the dramatic autumn…