When I think about my desire to slow down and turn my attention within, I realize that I'm often looking to reconnect with a sense of wisdom within myself. I want to experience a sense of peace and clarity that, I hope, will accompany me throughout the day.

I find...

This weekend, I was reminded that the process of creating lovely things is sometimes far from lovely. As I kept tugging on my ponytails, pressing the palm of my hand into my forehead, and sighing, the irony wasn't lost on me that I was trying to create attractive-looking images with...

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and then do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

-- Howard Thurman

The average adult who goes to Disney World will walk away with two primary responses. First, they'll note that what...

Nearby is the country they call life. You will know it by its seriousness. Give me your hand. --Rilke

I was going through airport security the other month, participating in the grind of pulling out my laptop and my Ziploc baggie full of plastic bottles, and removing my belt and...

Often, when we consider making a New Year's resolution, we think about adding new activities to our day-to-day lives -- doing more by getting stricter with ourselves. Although there can be value in this approach to creating change, sometimes what we most need is just the opposite. Here are eight...

"So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute.

-- Willy Wonka

One key to taking care of ourselves lies in learning how to slow down. I have a friend who's in the middle of a well-deserved sabbatical. These months represent...

"May I live this day
Compassionate of heart,
Clear in word,
Gracious in awareness,
Courageous in thought,
Generous in love."

--John O'Donohue

In his book, To Bless the Space Between Us, John O'Donohue describes an experience he had when he was a young priest visiting a group...

It wasn't until I had crossed the threshold into motherhood that I came to understand the healing potential of writing. I had heard rumors about it before, read research studies on the benefits of journal writing, and even conducted a study or two about it myself. It made sense to...

Regardless of our level of involvement in the presidential election, we've most likely found our attention being pulled outside of ourselves in both enlivening and exhausting ways. After the pre-recorded phone messages have come to a stop and we've had a chance to feel and voice our opinion about the...

"Live the questions now.
Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it,
live your way into the answer." -- Rainer Maria Rilke

I love the idea of loving questions -- seeing the potential beauty that they contain. I don't think...

I still recall the first time I experienced a pupu platter at a Polynesian restaurant. My brother and I laughed at the name, questioning if it would be an appetizer we'd really be interested in, but we soon discovered, lo and behold, that these two syllables translated into an enormous,...

It seems that many of us have learned the art of not fully feeling what we feel. We may not know exactly how or when we picked up this skill along the way, but we can sense its presence in how we've become expert dismissers ("Ah, it's not that big...

Amidst the many demands of adulthood, life can sometimes lose its lightness. Even in our positive efforts toward health and wellness, we can become overly serious in our pursuits. It certainly helps to keep a sense of humor as we engage in such activities, especially to buffer the humbling aspects...

The stress and strains of our always-connected lives can sometimes take us off course. GPS For The Soul can help you find your way back to balance.

The other week, while sitting with a middle-aged man named Paul, I found myself feeling particularly touched by our conversation. He had just returned from his first vacation in years and was describing the highlights. "I couldn't believe how beautiful the...

When our lives are busy, we really can't afford to put more or less time into self-care than we need to. Our self-care strategy needs to be similar to a rational approach to car maintenance. There's no sense getting our vehicle overly serviced -- taking it in before we need...

"All of the troubles of life come upon us
because we refuse to sit quietly for a while each day in our rooms." -- Blaise Pascal

When I first encountered Pascal's words, I felt like they were telling me, in a poetic way,...

One of my favorite ways to take a break is to lie on a hammock, so much so that, several years ago, I purchased a metal frame in order to set one up in my backyard. When I'm on it, gently swaying...

Having a full calendar, in many ways, is a sign of success. At best, it's an indication that we've acquired what we set out to attain in our younger years -- possibly a career, a family, and a sprinkling of hobbies and involvements that hold meaning. Yet, often this fullness,...