People in mindfulness circles love to quote Portia Nelson’s “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters.” It’s a little work of wisdom about the patterns we habitually bring to the challenges in our lives. We’re all familiar with helplessness, victimhood, and denial of the unpleasant. One of these may be our...
Read more »
Tags: autobiography in five short chapters, breast cancer, cancer, humor, kindness, mindfulness, parable, Portia Nelson, survivor, wisdom
Sherwin Nuland was known affectionately as Shep by my family. He and my father were young roommates – physicians-in-training in London in the late 1950s.
Read more »
Tags: "How we die", death, happiness, hope, judaism, life, love, obituary, Sherwin Nuland, work
In my work with social justice advocates across the world, I’ve noticed that those who are most passionate and committed approach challenges with a heart of compassion. Which is why I loved writing about Maggie Doyne for Huffington Post this week. Maggie is a 27-year-old woman from NJ who...
Read more »
Tags: compassion, empathy, happiness, love, mindfulness, relationships, valentine's day, work
My son turned fourteen last week, and his birthday promised to be one enormous letdown. The year before we had celebrated his Bar Mitzvah, marking this 13th birthday, in grand style. He surprised the congregation with a hilarious yet meaningful speech about the commandment “Though shalt not covet,” complete...
Read more »
Tags: bar mitzvah, birthday, Chinese New Year, family, judaism, love, New York, stories, teens
No sky no earth – but still, snowflakes fall ~ Hashin
Read more »
Tags: inspiration, poetry, winter
Fourteen years ago, just weeks after becoming a new mother, I wandered into a “Meditation 101” class at a Buddhist center in New York City. I was a wreck. My body was buzzing from sleep deprivation, and my mind was headed straight into an existential crisis over what was...
Read more »
Tags: Buddhism, happiness, meditation, mindfulness, religion
“You did not talk to her,” my 9-year-old said incredulously. “Not only did I talk to her,” I retorted, “I asked if I could videotape her.” I had just run into the woman my son refers to as “Goooo Vegan.” Our local post office has incomprehensibly long lines, and...
Read more »
Tags: East Village, Lower East Side, New York City, stories, strangers, vegan, video
Maybe this has happened to you: adorable children in your neighborhood knock on your door with a zip lock bag full of a yellowish, gloppy substance. They tell you it’s a starter for Amish Friendship Bread, and it works like a chain — they are baking their bread today...
Read more »
Tags: Amish, Amish Friendship Bread, baking, cooking, family, green, kids, St. Patrick's Day