A Grain of Salt

Am I listening?

Published February 28, 2022

I struggle to listen. I have spent years reading, teaching, and practicing active listening, but I still struggle. Some friends would claim I am a good listener, but I know my inner struggle to attend and listen. This struggle showed up powerfully on a recent visit to my 91-year-old mother. My mom, Maxine, is declining. She no longer can link my name to her memory, but when I walk in the room with my husband,…

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Experience Glory

Published February 21, 2022

I invite you to take the time to enter into an experience – a personal Olympic story. Watch and imagine that it’s your sister in lane three. People lean overhearing your discussion and join you in cheering when they realize your sister is stepping up to the blocks. Imagine the feeling of being family in the stands. Feel the anticipation and hope build as you put yourself in the colossal crowd buzzing with excitement all gathered…

Happy Valentine’s

Published February 13, 2022

I have given up on Christmas cards. Oh, I have the best intentions, but it seems some time warp exists in the first days of November, and the next thing I know, it is late January. I am not beating myself up because I accomplish navigating five birthdays and a big holiday for my immediate family of 17 in that time warp. That’s why I love Valentine’s. I feel like I can pay attention to…

That Was Easy

Published February 7, 2022

What a promise. Perhaps like me when you hear, “That was easy.” You think of Staples. Staples claims that at least finding and ordering their offices supplies amid complex living is easy. Here is another group’s take on easy. The United States Navy seals are known for saying, This declaration is that what’s behind is easy. Implied is don’t look for easy in today. I’ve been thinking about another source’s take on what is easy.…

I Wander. Do you?

Published January 31, 2022

Here is my uncomfortable truth. I prefer wandering over following. There is nothing wrong with wandering except when I believe my indiscriminate movement conveys meaning and my restless activity purpose. I know this is not true. Even with “important” goals, a tightly packed calendar can still be filled with the most meaningless activities. What makes my wandering so distressing is that I realize this as an unconscious delay to the uncomfortable pause that thinking and…

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Facebook is Faster than the DMV

Published December 13, 2021

Recently, I finished a bike ride on my nearby trail with Gary on a Friday. I have to overcome the grousing that often shows up before the ride. It’s so cold. I’m so tired. The wind is too strong. I am confessing that I complain before I ride. The bike ride took care of that interior critic. I was happily climbing in the van when I realized my driver’s license was gone! I can only…

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A Grain of Salt Posts