I was 37 and just finishing my doctoral dissertation research when I woke up one day and realized that I'd spent my adult life reading primarily the work of men. Almost all books, articles, essays, research papers, and even poetry: men, men, men, men, men. Back in 2008,
First, a thank you. Happy Pride month friends. Thank you, LGBTQ+ family and community and ancestors, from the bottom of our hearts, for everything you so generously give the world with your presence and perspectives, just by being yourselves. I personally need to thank you as individuals, and as community,
I wrote a long introduction laying out my impeccable street cred and demonstrating why I can claim the word "elder" as my own, and why I might deserve to be listened to on this subject, here, just weeks ahead of my 55th birthday. Then I thought about what
We're handing over our beloved Ritual Mischief to her new family in just 8 days. Only eight days left running my own herbalist practice/organization/business. Only eight days left to get all our recipes documented for the new family, all our digital files and paperwork in order,
Last week, I told my small-but-deeply-loved writer's group– out loud– that I will be doubling down on joy, fun, and wonder in my writing this year. And, because they're connected– doubling down on joy, fun, wonder, and rest in my life and my family's
As a writer who is also an herbalist, in addition to writing I currently run a small, local-plant-infused herbal products practice called Ritual Mischief. Stay tuned for big news on that front next week! Big wonder and joy coming your way there if you follow Ritual Mischief! In the meantime,
Humanity is being told by a small group of always-angry wealthy men that we have to give up a lot this year. That we must give up even more now, including people and work and rights and institutions and protections and land and trees we all love, both together and
In one of my large online groups this week, an anonymous and brilliant person from somewhere in the U.S. asked us this: "There is a sign in my city that says “maybe you are wrong” and I think about it all the time. I am getting tired of
Our shared foundation of love is obvious, and everywhere, when we remember to look for it. Sometimes the trick is remembering it's still there or remember to even look. And, sometimes the trick is looking with a heart full of mostly love or gratitude or curiosity, instead of
I'm unlearning so much right now. Almost everyone I know is too. How about you? Here we're currently calling this era The Great Unlearning and letting go that really doesn't feel great very often at the moment. Or TGU, for short. ;-) This piece
I hear this almost every day here in March of 2025– every day that I'm connected to the human world and fully listening, that is: How can I make a difference? How can I help stop these destructive, wildly overreaching, apparently all-powerful, cruel, and violence-centered men intent on
Hey friends, welcome. You may have read this week that a currently influential and remarkably nervous billionaire said, and demonstrated, these things about empathy across the past week or two. He said: "The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy, the empathy exploit. They're, it's,
I've been feeling regularly outraged and abused by a politics of cruelty lately. How about you? Enough already, friends. It's time to take our beloved world back. This 30-minute walk-and-talk is my way back, winding my way through humanity's remarkable sisterhood, resilience, medicine, ceremony,
One word, plus a routine change, really can change everything. Care to join me? What's the one word that sits at your core right now? Think of one word right now. It can be anything, don't overthink it here. Got it? I'll ask you
At some point this week, did you imagine that you're bad at making sense within chaos right now? Did you imagine that you don't belong here? Or imagine that you don't know exactly who to trust or who you are? Or if you'
We have it in us to notice deep and lasting beauty everywhere, every day, even as our whole world crumbles. And to create deep and lasting beauty, too. Here are three examples from our life here, followed by a brief conclusion during which I spend 30 seconds getting decidedly uppity
Back when I was just starting my doc program in Educational Leadership, our faculty members took us down to the university gym for some whole-body learning. Experiential learning? I forget what it was called now–that was 20 years ago. What we learned that day has stuck with me longer
I spent last week writing essays about how to respond to brutal, intentionally cruel regimes. I did this for friends and family who've been full of dread, or panicking, or facing real horrors of loss and displacement and violence already, and also for me. Writing therapy is real
I snapped at a sweet friend this week. Publicly, on his social media page. [Deep breath out, deep breath in. Continue.] I snapped at a lovely human who took his baby to the beach in another country for a few days of much-needed rest during this very painful week for