Letting Life Happen

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 »

Following your joy. I’ve said before that it’s important to know what it is specifically that brings you joy…and then make sure to get more that in your life. But I’d also like to add another point of view. It was John Lennon who said: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” So true. We can spend so much time and energy meticulously planning and plotting out our days and our lives. And at the same time, we’ve got to be open to whatever might come our way. It may even be something that we’ve never dreamed of!

You really don’t want to miss those amazing little miracles that show up right in front of your eyes, especially when you’re somewhere else trying to plan for them or “make” them happen. You gotta be ready to catch them when they appear.

I’m really good at making a plan. In fact, I’d like to say that I excel at it. I’m learning, though, that there’s more—so much more—to life than “the plan.” And what I continuously remind myself of is to stay in the moment and go with the flow…where the good stuff is, regardless of the plan.

One of my reminders came in a wonderful form today. My dad called to Read more »

Sometimes we learn best when we see ourselves reflected in the eyes of another. It might be through a family member, a best friend, or even through a miracle in nature. And so, a few summers ago I had the privilege of hosting a very special guest in our home to teach me a few things about life: a monarch chrysalis.

Previously, my dad watched this creation from the very beginning as a tiny pin-prick of an egg on a milkweed plant in his garden. From there, a tiny caterpillar hatched, grew into a big caterpillar, and then created a special cocoon for itself where the magic began to weave.

Upon my dad’s urging, Bill and I stopped over and picked up this beautiful chrysalis, hanging from a branch, and took it home to nurture until it was ready to leave. Our new houseguest was a brilliant green cocoon with perfectly arranged dots of gold decoration. This was our first experience with a chrysalis and we weren’t quite sure what to expect. So we watched. And we waited. We heard that apparently a large butterfly was supposed to come out of that small green chrysalis!

You probably know how the story goes—a week later, a monarch butterfly emerged and flew away. In the final days and hours before this monumentous event, though, my new learning about myself and about life took place.

This is what the butterfly’s journey taught Read more »