Wednesday Wisdom

I wanted to come up with some kind of “peace prank” or meditation joke for today, April Fool’s. But I wasn’t so clever. Instead I remembered a soothing meditation I can share with you. Balancing act When we feel bad, it’s extra hard because our mind focuses on what feels bad - be it a body ache or a situation in our life or the world at large. The only thing is . . . There is also, at the same time, a kernel of peace available in each moment. This kernel may be as small as an acorn or grain...

I always feel a thrill when I see the first flowers of spring. The above photo is from an old smartphone, hence the blur. But I love the way someone decided to reuse the stump as a planter for daffodils, those bright heralds of spring This year, my first flower sighting happened in an unexpected place. Crocuses are some of the first flowers to bloom here in the Rockies , so maybe it’s no coincidence I found some . . . in a Little Free Library, before any real flowers had come up from the...

I’ve been listening to Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much by Cynthia Erivo. Her powerful, emotive voice has been uplifting to hear. And when she shares her vulnerabilities and missteps, she becomes more human, less like an impossibly perfect superstar who’s always had it all. Early in the book she shares one of her practices for peace: Can you see the half moon? Hitting your Stride “Running has become a meditation, a way of processing,” says Cynthia. "It helps...

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, so how many words are a piece of music worth? 10,000? Music has a way of speaking directly to our soul. And soothing it. Below is a soft piano piece I turn to when I’m stressed. It conjures up a quiet winter evening, maybe strolling under the snowflakes in New York’s Central Park, or sitting by a gentle fire in a cosy cabin. Feel free to picture a beautiful, comfortable scene as you listen to this 7 minute piece - and then it becomes an enjoyable,...

It’s not easy to know how to be in this moment. I’ve been heartbroken about yet another war starting, and I’ve struggled to find the words for Wednesday Wisdoms. I know and you know that we can’t create world peace just through this newsletter. But when I send these emails and you read them, it’s a reminder that we’re part of a growing, global-minded community that wants peace. So today, I want to give a “State of Peace Address” that goes into the challenges we face in more depth than my...

This is the 100th Wednesday Wisdom! That means our 2-year anniversary is only a few weeks away. And yet . . . The future is precarious, for this ponderosa and WW Against all odds As a neurodivergent, consistency and routines are not easy for me. I sit here stunned, amazed that I have stuck with this inner peace email for so many weeks in a row. (I did accidentally skip a week or two in 2024, so I’m not perfect.) Plus I didn’t know if anyone would be interested in reading my thoughts on inner...

This week, I didn’t create a long and eloquent Wednesday Wisdom. More I could about that, but anyway. There’s something nice about a TL;DR review of the last few emails . . . Plan for Peace We’ve been talking about anchors - a place, activity, person or pet who helps you be in and even enjoy the present moment. It’s ok, even preferable, to have more than one anchor. Then I asked you to make a first draft of your peace plan - finding or creating moments or chunks of time in your week when you...

I wonder who first invented the anchor. I imagine a group of early humans, many thousands of years ago, gathered on the shore after a day of fishing, comparing their catches. But then, a fresh tide and stormy wind appear, pushing their little boats out to sea, forever lost. Oops. Finally, someone thinks, “This makes no sense! Why do we spend days of time making our boats, only to see them drift away any time a storm comes? There has to be a way to keep the boats nearby!” Protect your Vessel...

I’m surprised I hyped myself up last Wednesday, saying I’ll share my #1 tip for finding peace this week. The good news and reality is that there are actually many, many tools and tips for finding peace. But it’s nice to boil down all the advice and turn to a reliable go to, especially if we’re busy, stressed, or confused. Get Present What? That’s what you said last week, Juniper! And again, with so much ick happening now, to put it mildly - why! Why be present? I have an entire Substack...

The Roman god Janus is why the first month of the Western calendar is called January. He’s the god of beginnings, and . . . He’s two-faced. Which is often how we start a new year, isn’t it? A statue of Janus now living in the Vatican* 360-degree view In the first week of January, one part of us looks back at the year that passed, reflecting and hopefully learning from it, while another part of us looks forward - to the future. The desire to plan or predict the future is very, very human. I...