One smile- picture is proof

How does it feel to turn 98 years old? Ask my Aunt Ruth. Today is her birthday. She knew I was coming yesterday and bringing a cake to the house she has lived in since the 1950’s. My cousin LuAnne got her dressed up fancy and helped her put on some lipstick. She was sitting […]

One smile

How does it feel to turn 98 years old? Ask my Aunt Ruth. Today is her birthday. She knew I was coming yesterday and bringing a cake to the house she has lived in since the 1950’s. My cousin LuAnne got her dressed up fancy and helped her put on some lipstick. She was sitting […]

Being a light

Do you start your day setting an intention? Something like: “Today, I will be grumpy, mean and an all around disruptor.” Or “My kids didn’t sleep, so I didn’t sleep, so you will all pay!!” Likely not. If you set an intention, it might be “May I help one person today.” Or, “may I stay […]

the climb up

I’ve been fortunate to be able to climb mountains since I was small. Exposed early to the steep Eastern Sierra trails out of Tom’s Cabin and Mammoth and the more gradual western side out of Yosemite and Mineral King, I loved the yearly summer trips. We slept on the ground or in a rustic cabin, […]

What is wealth?

As the rich get richer in ways no one imagined a decade ago, it is hard to say what is enough. And enough of what? Are vast amounts of money the ultimate prize? Or is it the power that comes from wealth? Are the wealthy and powerful making life better for anyone else? Are they […]

Make a little space for yourself

Have the holidays exhausted you? While they may be “the most wonderful time of the year”, they are also the most proscribed.  Expectations, demands, year-end requirements, cookies to be made, cards to be written, gifts to be purchased or made and sent. Friends and family to see which often requires travel — which is a […]

Awestruck

It is rare when adults are awestruck. So many trips around the sun can inure one to the wonders of the world. Not true this week for us. Paul, Bogie and I did our monthly trip to Mammoth despite the lack of new snow just because we love the Eastern Sierra in all its geological […]

Caring for yourself

Somewhere in the rush to do well in your profession, take care of your family, keep up with your friends and colleagues, and not miss out on the latest happenings, did you lose caring for yourself? This time of year it goes into overdrive. Presents, holiday cards, seeing friends in town for a quick minute, […]

Stay Flexible

It is hard to argue with logical time-tested advice. Stay flexible. It sounds good. However, the volatility in our business conditions has been exhausting. Business owners have been living like cats on a hot tin roof. They may not be able to stay flexible much longer. Profits are down, sales are down. They are laying […]

The old guard

The old guard of shaggy untrimmed palms stand in the dry creek bed in the middle of the oak trees, the poison oak and various native scrub of Griffith Park. We walk by them many days when we take the back trail home up the side of the canyon and back into the the city […]