Exhausted by process, I escape to the desert to let it hold my heart. The past two months have been an intense time of reading, re-reading, writing, editing and listening. At the end of writing content for the book, I’m now tasked with the little/big things like chapter names. I settle in and listen for […]

Winter solstice December 22, 2015 This morning when I went outside to greet the sun, it was already almost halfway up in the sky. I try to go out and greet the sun most mornings. There’s something about feeling sunlight on your face, eyes closed, that just feels so good especially in the winter. Every […]

I am deep in the writing process working steadily towards a deadline at the end of January. Last week I printed out a lot of my work and am steadily combing through each chapter and editing, which pretty much involves me asking myself about 50 times a day, “What am I really trying to say?” […]

Clouds pile on top of each other from behind the mountains, slowly building, expanding upwards, reaching up and then out across the sky. My favorite time of year in the desert, this unpredictable Monsoon season, with the miserable humidity and soaring temperatures and then sudden explosions of rain bringing cool relief. I never think in the […]

News — a publisher is officially interested in the Self-Care for Social Justice book manuscript. YAY! This means an adjustment, turning more of my writing time/energy towards getting the manuscript ready. So, for the next 6-8 months this blog format will be shifting a bit.  What is Self-Care? This question will be the prompt for […]

Defense: Resistance to something perceived as a threat. Fence: Tall, vertical surface. Person-made to keep something in or out.   In friendship, I’ve hit the De/Fence more times than I can count. The De/Fence hides in the landscape of friendship, like a camouflage wall sticking out of the desert sand, blending in until I smack into […]

Since I’ve been back from assisting my friend Corbett with her book launch (Fading Scars) I have been trying to catch my breath, trying to catch my heart. Coming home, a family member was in the hospital and my family was in crisis. Then the massacre in Charleston happened. The anniversary of Olmstead came and went and Goodwill still is […]

Comment on Caring for Others, Caring for Self: This was extremely helpful, thank you! I am wondering, though, if you have specific ways to practice checking in with yourself? I find that in the balance of finding what I need and what my community needs, I’m more apt to sway to the community needs. That’s the […]

Sometimes a simple reminder is all I need to remember that I am gifted with love and connection just by greeting the cacti and sun. “Grace” by Oriah House, helped me remember that today.  Grace Nothing I have ever done or will ever do can separate me from or bring me into the heart of the […]

Pushing Limits Radio Show 4.17.15  In the first 12 minutes of Pushing Limits, I talked with Adrienne Lauby about the tension of caring for others and caring for ourselves. To hear the interview, click on the link above. Below are notes from the interview which I adapted into a blog post. There are a couple […]