I Didn’t Fold
10 Unique Lessons from Across the Globe for a Meaningful Life
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” ~W.B. Yeats
For a few years of my life, I was lucky enough to have a semi-nomadic lifestyle. A lot of my stuff fit in a backpack, and it was a great joy to move around different regions of the world and have rich conversations with people. One of the most enchanting aspects of my years spent backpacking was the discovery of these magical practices that resonate deeply across cultures.
I started a precious collection of these soul-deep lessons from the various landscapes I passed …
The Simple, Old-School Acts of Kindness Our World Badly Needs
“Whatever is in memory is also in soul.” ~Saint Augustine, Confessions
Memories of my father are etched deeply in me—not for what he accomplished as a surgeon, a pilot, and an outdoorsman, but for what he was about, a truly gentle and generous man. Ironically, one of the most important lessons I learned from and about him came from a stranger.
I was alone in my family’s large Victorian-style house in the heart of the Midwest on a muggy Saturday afternoon. My mother had taken my siblings to a summer reading program at the public library, and my dad had …
Slow Living: A Simple but Powerful Form of Healing
“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention.” ~Pico Iyer
On a college orientation trip, at the age of eighteen, I hiked the 100-mile wilderness of the Appalachian Mountain Trail, and my trail name was “caboose.” Slow and steady from behind was where you’d find me. That was my way. I was typically the last to camp, but I could go all night when necessary.
That wasn’t my first experience being the slow one in a group. When …
Trapped in Shame: How I Found Mental Freedom After Prison
“If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs three ingredients to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence, and judgment. If you put the same amount of shame in the petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can’t survive.” ~Brené Brown
I was in two prisons.
One physical. One mental.
The physical version was Otisville Federal Prison.
I was living so out of alignment with who I was and who I wanted to become and self-sabotaged in a colossal way, defrauding one of the largest tech companies in the world.
My mental prison, my personal hell, was the all-consuming …
30 Ways to Be Kind: Simple Ways to Spread a Little Love
Can you remember the last time someone was unexpectedly kind to you?
I’m guessing at least some of the people in your life are kind to you on a regular basis. Or at least I hope they are! But maybe their kindness feels commonplace because it’s made up of lots of little things that they do often… like asking if you want a cup of coffee when they’re getting their own, or saying, “I love you” in that rote way we do before hanging up the phone.
Small gestures like this are always valuable and worth appreciating and acknowledging. But …
How I’ve Been Shaking Out My Pain Since Losing My Daughter
“Movement has incredible healing power.” ~Alexandra Heather Foss
My ten-year-old daughter, who had been ill for all her life, was dying. She was hooked up to tubes and monitors, and they were always going off. Her numbers were off the charts, and the doctors kept saying, “Your daughter’s numbers aren’t normal, and we would normally have a team coming in here to check on her breathing and to rouse her.”
After the last operation, one doctor said she was surprised that she was still alive when she came into work. We all were. She kept fighting. She would just be …
The Alchemy of a Broken Heart: How to Transform Your Pain into Purpose
“Life changes. You lose love. You lose friends. You lose pieces of yourself that you never imagined would be gone. And then, without you even realizing it, these pieces come back. New love enters. Better friends come along. And a stronger, wiser you is staring back in the mirror.” ~Preetham Mohanty
One year ago, I quit my high-stress job. Then my husband quit me.
There had been signs of our unhappiness in the six months prior, but I thought it was dissatisfaction with our work lives, not with our relationship. It was clear, though, that our dynamic had changed—we were …
Looking for a Meaningful Holiday Gift? These Stories Will Renew Your Faith in Humanity
The holiday season can be joyful, stressful, difficult, or beautiful. It all depends on what you’re going through.
Regardless of your unique circumstances, I suspect you’ll feel a little lighter and brighter after reading HumanKind: Changing the World One Small Act at a Time.
This national bestseller brought tears to my eyes. With uplifting stories of hope and kindness, it’s an antidote to all the negativity in the media and the world, and proof that small acts of kindness can have a ripple effect and transform thousands of lives.
It’s also a gift to mentoring organization Big …
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 