Today is my birthday and the perfect day for me to honor, celebrate, and revere life. This past week has been one of the most intense weeks I have ever known, prompting me to reflect a great deal on life and the world around me.

All within a matter of hours, my grandpa had a significant heart attack; and my father-in-law went into emergency surgery as a follow-up to heart bypass surgery—landing him directly into the intensive care unit (ICU).

The next few days were incredibly intense and flanked with uncertainty—spending precious time at the two hospitals, talking through options with family members, jumping at each phone call, barely sleeping, dissolving into tears at the drop of a hat, and on and on.

I immediately cancelled all meetings and lunches on my calendar. While these were all scheduled with people I was excited to see, the need for focus was so strong that I didn’t even give it a second thought. I knew that I needed to clear the space—both literally and figuratively—to be ‘here’ for my grandfather, my father-in-law, my family…and myself. Read more »

Have you ever seen Magen’s Bay in St. Thomas? What a fabulous place to leave behind any stresses, any “should’s,” any worries; and breathe in…life.

Similar to how a dog feels safe in his cozy kennel, as a beach bum I felt totally “safe” here on Magen’s Bay, too. The beach is surrounded by a cove; a magnificent three-sided wall of lush tropical green. There’s something about it that felt so comforting, and I was amazed by the acoustics—while there were hundreds of people having a good time on the beach, I noticed that we lowered our voices when we spoke, as if we were in a sacred space like a church or place of worship.

I was moved to take this shot of a carefree grandma resting with her grandchild under the sun. Seeing the peace that enveloped these two reminded me of how easy it is to be “on-the-go” or to be busy “gettin’ stuff done.” It certainly isn’t as easy, though, to tap into the joy of life amidst that busy-ness.

On the contrary, joy is wonderfully experienced when we slow down, take a deep breath, and relax into being.

You may have heard the notion that Read more »

One of my hallmarks of being on vacation is to be completely disconnected from TV, news, Internet, email, and phone. This time, though, the news was so big that it found me. And I couldn’t ignore it like I usually do on vacation. I further broke tradition and was moved to go online now to donate money to the earthquake relief efforts for our brothers and sisters in Haiti. While I’m here, I also wanted to write about the extreme irony of where I sit as I send my money.

We’re sailing the Caribbean on a mega cruise ship where glitz and glamour abound. Most of us onboard weren’t even aware of the massive destruction unfolding in Haiti and continued partying on and enjoying gourmet cuisine, fancy martinis, and live jazz.

I was particularly struck by the moment I learned of the news later the next day. I had purchased a half-day pass to an elite section of the ship called The Sanctuary, an adults-only “pocket of tranquility” they call it. Here, you get your own reserved comfy chaise lounge, similar to a cloud on wheels. Cleverly named “Serenity Stewards” are on-call to Read more »

Hello and welcome to a bunch of new subscribers! So glad to have you here. Wow, we are really rockin’! And the message to me is that we’re on the right track. Love it! And so grateful.

To get 2010 started off right, let’s look back a bit…

First things first. Got any idea what the initial blog post was about back in April ‘09? In it, you’ll find the phrases: “Cedar Falls, Iowa,” “front row,” and “Taco Bell.” Still not sure? Here’s the gig that kicked this whole thing off back in the spring.

And…here are the reader faves from the rest of 2009!

Synchronicities & The Power of Intention:
–“September Morn” & An Unexpected Kiss
–The Caribbean & The Power of Intention
–Jefferson Starship and “Miracles”
–Neil Diamond, CEO’s, and Magic

Helping & Serving Others:
–How To Help Others Follow Their Joy
–You, Too, Can Make Someone’s Day

Law of Attraction & Concert Tickets: Read more »

“…People all over the world, join hands, start a love train, love train…” If you recognize this 70’s song by the O’Jay’s, and if you’re like me, you can’t help but get out of your chair and start dancing! And if you don’t know this one, you may want to add it to your library. I love that song! And from now on whenever I hear it, it will bring a “pause” to my life as I recall a very powerful and goosebump-inducing night last year.

Bill and I were on a cruise celebrating my 40th birthday. It was glorious! As we sailed the Caribbean, one of the nights on the ship was designated as “70’s Night.” That one had my name written all over it, and it was also the backdrop for some pretty cool personal experiences for me.

In the interior of our ship was a large promenade area that looked up seven levels and was probably the length of two football fields. This was the grand setting for the evening’s kick-off party as no less than a thousand passengers filled the space.

Most of us didn’t know each other and many of us spoke different languages. But when that O’Jay’s song blasted through the speakers, and the music pumped through and filled every single corner of that massive interior of the ship, time stood still. There were beach balls smacked up Read more »

We had the pleasure of staying at the Heritage Inn on the British Virgin Island of Tortola a few years ago. And for those two weeks, we became a hit with the owner’s dogs, Bozo and Dipsy; and they, in turn, became a hit with us.

A routine in our relationship with the dogs quickly developed. Each morning as Bill and I made breakfast, our two canine friends quietly appeared on the deck, breathing in the aroma of scrambled eggs and oatmeal coming from our little kitchen. It must have been the clanking of the dishes—or maybe it was simply the smell of our hot breakfast food—that signaled to them it was time to visit the nice couple from the Midwest in room #8.

Like clockwork, they’d show up and chill just on the other side of our screen door. Bozo and Dipsy would watch our every move with intense focus, in the most polite and respectful manner. They wouldn’t make a sound or bother us or interrupt our cooking procedure. Sometimes we’d pretend for a moment not to know they were there so that we could slyly watch them out of the corners of our eyes. Those sweet dogs melted our hearts!

We’d always go out on the deck to eat our breakfast, enjoying the view across the bay which looked out toward St. Thomas. The dogs stayed and watched us, barely blinking an eye. We’d talk to them and tell them our Read more »

For the very first time I have been struggling with writing my next post. I do have two full pages of great topics on following your joy that I am so excited for and can barely wait to write about! But this week I had a hard time finding the inspiration to put words together. Really, it’s a quite simple task, but I was making it too complex and got lost in my head.

And then my dear friend, Liv, magically sent this picture of her adorable little angel toddler, Truman (“Tru,” we call him), in his “JOY” outfit…and everything became clear.

First off, Tru is our godson (lucky us!). The last time Bill and I were with their family, we watched in amazement as Tru went about his little world…full of wonder, curiosity, and awe; in full-out exploration of everything in his surroundings. He threw his head back with full-body giggles when the dog did something goofy. He studied his big brother’s every movement and “Star Wars” poses as though he were learning a new trade. He gazed adoringly at his mom and dad with eyes that said “I love you” like nothing else in the world mattered.

Tru inhaled each breath slowly. He was alert and awake to everything around him. He stopped what he was doing to Read more »

[Be sure to read Is Front Row Asking Too Much?, Part I first]

There wasn’t much time to bask in the afterglow from the concert the night before. This was a new day, and tickets needed to be scored! Previously, I said I wanted front row seats for this second of two Neil Diamond shows, and in the back of my mind I wondered how realistic that really was. And after such a fantastic experience the night before, could this now be asking too much?

But I held strong. Why not?

So once again, there were no good seats available for the show that night and tickets on the broker websites were exorbitantly priced. As Bill headed out for work that morning, he pulled one of his Hawaiian shirts out of the closet and said, “I’m gonna wear this tonight. It’s my new ‘front row center’ shirt!” Have you heard that old adage: “Act as if”? Well, my trusting husband was acting as if we would be sitting in the front row. What a great attitude to choose, and I figured I better adopt it as well. I had nothing to lose!

Our plan for the evening was to get downtown early and let things unfold again. But as a back-up plan, throughout the day we searched the internet for other possibilities. In the afternoon we checked online one final time. And not only had ticket prices dropped Read more »

We’ve all had those “defining moments” when we learned something so powerful, that our life literally changed right there, on-the-spot. This happened for me when Neil Diamond came here to Minneapolis in 2005 for two back-to-back concerts. It was then that I learned the power of being clear on what you want, asking for it out loud, and declaring it to the world.

Quick backdrop: My love of Neil started in the early 80’s, when getting tickets to concerts was a whole different deal. I skipped school one day in 8th grade, standing in line for tickets for eight hours! Through the years I’ve remained a loyal and faithful fan. It’s been a fun constant in my life from the days of feathered hair and braces…to my wild college years…to maturing into adulthood…and to most recently hitting the big 4-0. Throughout it all, when Neil goes on tour, you can bet that I am there.

So on the day before the festivities back in ‘05, believe it or not, this huge fan (me) did not have tickets for the shows. While mediocre seats were available, I wanted the best. I had gotten in touch with all my connections, searched the Internet, and tried a few tricks. But I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. I started to wonder if I was going to have to pay a fortune to get those great seats I wanted, and I wasn’t sure what to do. It certainly wasn’t a good time for us to be spending extra money, and I wondered how there would ever be good seats still available for such a high-demand entertainer?

When Bill came home from work, he could sense my turmoil about not having tickets, as the first of the two shows was closing in on 24 hours away. I told him about all the roadblocks I had come up against, and he stopped me dead in my tracks and Read more »

One of the many constants in my married life with Bill is a tradition we started when we first began dating over 17 years ago. Our favorite thing to do is to hang out at home together, relax, and enjoy each other’s company. Routinely on a Friday or Saturday night (when we’re not out hittin’ the town), we have what we call a “Personal Evening”:  Bill makes dinner for us (thank goodness I married someone who loves to cook!), and my role is to light the candles and put on the perfect music to accompany the evening.

Since the beginning, it’s always been legendary musician Herb Alpert’s tunes that perfectly fit the bill. His smooth trumpet fills the room and creates the ideal blend of relaxation, calm, and joy. And it’s just the right backdrop to complement our dinners by the fire and our deep conversations about our hopes and dreams for our future.

A few weeks ago, Bill and I were talking about how much music fills our lives and how much joy we get from seeing our favorite artists live (we’ve traveled from to New York to L.A., from Oklahoma City to Sioux City, and from Miami to Omaha to see our faves!). We got all excited reminiscing about past experiences and “feeling” what it feels like to be in the presence of live music. We also talked about the importance of continuing to make this a priority in our lives. After all, it’s following our joy in the truest sense.

The next morning to my surprise, I checked email and saw in my Inbox a last-minute announcement that Read more »