“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” -Nelson Mandela
Yesterday, after months of anticipation that included procuring pre-existing condition health insurance and finding the right doctor, I finally met with a physician who will soon schedule me for surgery.
Though I’ve had procedures before, this will be my first major operation.… Read More
“Most of our troubles are due to our passionate desire for and attachment to things that we misapprehend as enduring entities.” ~Dalai Lama
My boyfriend and I spent a couple of days in Las Vegas for Valentine’s Day. These days I get excited about the buffets and shows, but formerly, I found the city a little depressing.… Read More
“Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.” -Estonian Proverb
Recently I’ve felt frustrated because someone I asked to help me has done less than I hoped he would. At first I felt this was unfair, because I’ve been supportive of him. Then I realized I was overlooking what he did do for me while dwelling on what he didn’t.… Read More
“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun, like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” –Fred Rogers
Over the years, we form a lot of ideas about what love is, oftentimes based on unrealistic hopes and standards.… Read More
“Keep your head clear. It doesn’t matter how bright the path is if your head is always cloudy.” -Unknown
Some days seem to start with a proverbial rain cloud dripping above our beds.
I had one of those days on Sunday. I didn’t sleep well on Friday or Saturday because I have a medical condition that sometimes wakes me in the middle of the night, so I woke up on Sunday feeling irritable and grouchy.… Read More
“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.” -John Allen Paulos
Sometimes it’s tempting to jump to conclusions that support our worst fears.
Maybe you didn’t hear back from an interviewer yet, so you assume you did something to mess it up.… Read More
“Feelings are real and legitimate.” -Unknown
One of the most frustrating things in the world is feeling something painful and having other people tell you that you shouldn’t be upset.
That it’s no big deal that relationship didn’t work out, or that opportunity didn’t pan out—that it’s all in your head, so you should let it go, suck it up, and move on.… Read More
“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
I am writing this from a plane, much like a post I wrote last week. I’ve come to believe some of life’s most joyful moments happen when we least expected they would.
Just now one of the flight attendants came onto the loud speaker to announce there’s someone with a birthday today.… Read More
“Enthusiasm is contagious. You can start an epidemic.” –Unknown
Do you ever downplay your passions and ambitions when someone asks you about your work?
Someone asked me if I do this a while back, and at first, I said that I don’t. To know me is to know Tiny Buddha—and to hear about it often.… Read More
“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.” -Theodore I. Rubin
There are times when things get complicated and it has nothing to do with the choices we’ve made.
Sometimes everyone around us needs us for different things, right as our work is becoming more challenging, and we’re feeling confused about what we actually want to do with our lives.… Read More
“The grass is always greener where you water it.” –Unknown
The first time I heard the phrase “the grass is always greener on the other side,” I was 12 years old—and I heard it in song.
I didn’t know at the time that this was from the play Woman of the Year, because two women in my theater group sang it as part of a musical review.… Read More
“The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment.” -Elbert Hubbard
Sometimes criticism can feel like a ticking bomb that needs to be disposed.
Case in point: I receive emails about every comment left on the site. While I’ll glance at them peripherally to be sure they’re not spam that made it through the filter, I generally let them accumulate so I can respond to many all at once.… Read More
“Once you have learned to love, you will have learned to live.” -Unknown
My high school vocal teacher said that “love” is the most beautiful word in the English language, so I should let it roll off my tongue like honey to make it thick, sweet and poignant.
So I did.… Read More
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” –Michael Altshuler
I am writing this from a plane with plans to publish it later. I decided less than 3 days ago to make the 3,000-mile trip home.
At first, my mother questioned if it was necessary—after all, my grandmother will be okay, despite her recent hospitalization.… Read More
“Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.” -Charles H. Spurgeon
Someone recently asked me in an interview why I choose to revisit ancient wisdom in my writing. I responded that there is very little new wisdom; there are just new ways of understanding and applying what we already know.
That’s not always so easy to do.… Read More
“Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness.” -Bryant H. McGill
The other day, as I walking to the activities center in my apartment community to write, I saw a team of men cutting down dead tree branches using truck-mounted lifts. They were tossing them into a wood chipper which shred each one in a matter of seconds.… Read More
“Many fine things can be done in a day if you don’t always make that day tomorrow.” -Unknown
When I was younger, an adult I was staying with told me, “The diet starts tomorrow. Let’s eat everything we can before midnight.”
So we did. We ate grilled cheeses, leftover Chinese food, Twinkies, and anything else that called to us from her cabinets.… Read More
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle, or you can live as if everything is a miracle.” –Albert Einstein
The other day I started writing in a gratitude journal again, right as I was overcoming a cold. After I wrote my boyfriend’s name, my family, and Tiny Buddha, I wrote “breathing through both nostrils.”
A few days prior, when my right side was all stuffed up, I wasn’t doing that so well.… Read More
“Happiness can only be found if you free yourself from all other distractions.” -Saul Bellow
I have had a long-standing love affair with bath tubs.
I stayed in numerous hostels while completing a semester in Europe; I stayed in hotels in nearly all of the 50 states while touring for work; and I lived in a dozen different apartments in Spokane, Washington, NYC, and the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Los Angeles last year.… Read More
“Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else’s.” -Billy Wilder
A few months ago, when I was creating my book marketing plan, an associate advised me to allocate resources to something that I felt certain was not a smart idea. He offered a detailed explanation for why I should do it, but I felt strongly that it wasn’t necessary.… Read More
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