I was asked to do a reading about my family’s experience with organ and tissue donation for the Institute for Spirituality and Health. (That’s my sister, Julie, in the photo.) Click here to listen to the podcast. If you like what you hear, feel free to share. April is National Donate Life Month. Click here to… Continue reading A Reading for the Institute for Spirituality and Health
On a recent visit to the offices of LifeGift, Houston’s organ procurement organization, I was struck by the interesting paintings on their walls. They were a bit Paint-by-Numbers, a bit Andy Warhol. I liked them immediately and wanted to know more. When I heard the stories behind the paintings, I was hooked. I asked if I could… Continue reading The Art of Organ and Tissue Donation
Ah, spring. The time for the birds and the bees, and ants and weeds. On our walk a few days ago, Jim and I marveled at how the ants can rebound from catastrophic rain. I don’t mean the flooding rains Houston is known for, but any rain, even a relatively gentle one, that wipes out… Continue reading Edging around the ant beds
I am in week 3 of a Contemplative Photography class at the Houston Zen Center. I signed up for the class on a whim; I receive regular emails about events at the Center, and for some reason this one caught my eye. The class is not about photography technique. (I am using my iPhone.) It’s… Continue reading A Flash of Perception
“Stuff!,” my 87-year-old mother exclaims, shaking her hands the air as she paces her five-bedroom home in the Houston suburbs. “What am I going to do with all this stuff?” Maybe she hopes it will all magically disappear, and a sizable check will float out of nowhere, softly landing on her white, sculpted custom Edward… Continue reading On Minimalism (What matters, part 4)
Happy New Year, everyone! I wanted to share a few sentences from Melody Beattie’s Journey to the Heart with you. This is one of my favorite books. It’s subtitled Daily Meditations on the Path to Freeing Your Soul. Each day contains a short, well-written, thoughtful message to contemplate. I love it and highly recommend it. Here… Continue reading Honor the Beginning
I’m not big on those year-end letters. You know the ones: What a year! I am humbled that I was able to make it to the top of Mount McKinley, dodging four avalanches, and in record time! Junior was unable to make the trip as he was being awarded the Nobel Prize for Microphysics in… Continue reading 2016: a year of women, writing
There’s a saying, “When a cardinal appears in your yard, it’s a visitor from heaven.” I was unfamiliar with it until it appeared, as one of those cheesy postcard-like images, in my Facebook feed. But for some reason, it made me pause. Lately, I have been inundated with red cardinals. Figuratively, anyway. I’ve been puzzled… Continue reading A red cardinal. A visitor from heaven?
Imagine being the ER physician who has to tell a mother that her daughter is not going to make it. Now imagine following on that physician’s heels to ask for that daughter’s heart. Elena Mendoza does that every day. I wrote about Elena in this article for Houstonia magazine. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for Elena. And… Continue reading Think your job is tough? Meet Elena Mendoza
I met a woman named Lisa this weekend. We volunteered together at LifeGift, Houston’s organ procurement organization (OPO), where a heart recipient and the donor’s family were meeting for the first time. It was an experience I will never forget. Afterwards, Lisa and I exchanged emails. “You have truly warmed my heart and blessed my… Continue reading I care about Lisa. (What matters, part 3)
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