Strangers are waving at me, and I find myself waving back. They smile, and so do I. And you know what? It feels really good. In all of this we’re learning to appreciate strangers. There’s a longing for connection that we all have, especially when we’re as starved of it as we are these days.…More
Tag Archives: Inspiration
Mistakes Are One of the Best Things You Can Make
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is making no mistake at all. Learning new skills, trying new things, growth, solving problems all involve some sort of failing. So don’t be afraid to make mistakes; be afraid of never making anything. See, to create, to get better at a craft, you start by making…More
Feel Connected
Be the first to initiate, text, call, zoom. Just because you’re in isolation doesn’t mean you need to be isolated. You can be connected, connecting, loved, loving. Reach out to your friends, family, colleagues, neighbors. Ask them how they’re doing. Wish them well. And the loneliness you feel will somehow feel far less lonely. You’ll…More
Three Ways to Improve Your Life, Even Now
You can improve your life, even in this pandemic. I’m not saying life’s ok. It’s not. We’ve lost much. Even with all of that, you can continue to grow, learn, rise. Here are three ways. Work Better We can all work, even if you’ve lost a job. Unemployment isn’t the end of the world.…More
The Greatest New Normal
Going to the grocery store looking like you’re about to rob the place or give someone an enema is the new normal. If you had told me two months ago that my family and I would be doing that and washing all of our food and packages before we put them away and sanitizing our…More
Grow today
Just because a pandemic is driving us all crazy doesn’t mean you can’t grow today. Try something new: Learn a new language, an unfamiliar musical instrument, paint a painting, write poetry, code, cook a strange dish, blog. Anything. Yes, it will make you feel like you have a dunce hat on, unsure of yourself, a…More
The frontlines of COVID-19—A love letter
To the nurses, EMTs, physicians, staff who are on the front line of this war, thank you for risking and sacrificing health, safety, comfort to ensure our health, safety, and comfort. You even sacrifice time with your family so we can be with ours. You are exposed so that we can be protected. You are…More
Unlearn yourself
You’re not stuck; you just haven’t learned to unlearn yourself. That phrase, “unlearn yourself,” is powerful because it unlocks the potential we all have within us. And it reframes the stories we tell ourselves that hold us back. Our stories define us. And those definitions often trap us. They’re a cage of assumptions and ideas…More
Have hope
Everything is in flux. The future is unclear, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have hope. Yes, a virus is ravaging our world, our countries, our neighborhoods, our lives. Fear is everywhere. Last week, I saw a woman open the door with one hand and the other one looked like it was cupping something small…More
Just survive
Thriving is great, but sometimes surviving is the best you can do. Because, you know, life gets crazy. Jobs get lost, companies go out of business, relationships break, people leave us, we get sick—pandemics happen: crazy: Those are the moments that aren’t controllable and cause us great pain. Right now, the world can feel like…More
John Pa 