The past months have been a challenge, and the coming months will continue to be difficult. Three weeks ago I had a mastectomy, and in January I will begin chemotherapy. Every few days–sometimes even hours–I feel as if a tsunami has swallowed me up. But …
It had been a delightful afternoon, spent at a local park with our 20-month-old twin grandsons, their seven-year-old brother and their parents. We corralled the little ones into the tot lot, which along with its double slide and swings, features a wooden locomotive with a …
Last Saturday, with friends staring at the Pacific from the trestle at Pudding Creek, near Fort Bragg, Stephen remarked that the waves were particularly large. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen waves like that,” he said. “They’re spectacular!” And they were, each long swath of …
I’d recently gotten some bad news, and although I fought to avoid it, my mind kept returning there. No matter how many times or how firmly I reminded myself to notice what I was passing as Frank and I walked around the block, like a …
Visitors from other countries or out-of-towners often remark that Californians, despite their casual manner, are not all that friendly. And they offer as proof the absence of greetings or smiles when they pass people on the sidewalk. I can’t remember just when I decided to …
I have made a few exciting discoveries about seeing small lately. Several months after Small: The Little We Need for Happiness was published, I happened upon Rick Hanson’s book Hardwiring Happiness, where I read that neuroscientists were already studying what I had experienced that afternoon …
Walking this morning with Frank, I passed a milkweed that had produced a large horn-shaped pod, and I felt an immediate upsurge of joy. Given my practice of seeing small, I knew to pay attention. While it’s lovely to take immediate note of what gives …
Anyone who is married or lives with a long-term partner understands the challenges, both universal and particular. Once we are well past college age, sharing a living space with another person can be difficult. You appreciate order, your housemate tends toward chaos. You need calm …
I have been aware of the power of hello for quite a while now. While I was writing my book on small, I discovered that for the most part, I offered perfunctory hellos, pronouncing the word automatically, with little thought to what I was saying. …
