12-21-25 At 10:03 am today, the sun shone directly on the Tropic of Capricorn marking the Winter Solstice and for us in the northern Hemisphere, the beginning of Winter. Each day after today, the days will be slightly longer. I struggle with the darkness at this time of year, so for me, the extra minutesContinue reading “Winter Solstice”
Tag Archives: grief
Rituals and Reunions
November 4, 2025 This past weekend saw a convergence of many seasonal milestones. Halloween, Day of the Dead, Samhain and a return to Standard Time all happened within 48 hours. It was the 60th birthday of a dear friend that included a lovely dinner out for seafood and formal party with even more mutual friendsContinue reading “Rituals and Reunions”
Becoming a Mermaid
October 5, 2025 Grief is a bugger. Despite all my self-care and the routines, I have built to keep me going, last week I faltered. Meditation, journaling, yoga and prayer are necessary just to get out of the house each morning. At the end of the day, I have a less involved routine, but stillContinue reading “Becoming a Mermaid”
Hope is a Thing with Feathers
7/31/25 “Hope is a Thing with Feathers.” I have never been a poet, nor do I claim to be a poetry aficionado, but even I know that this is one of Emily Dickinson’s most famous poems. The line suddenly pushed its way into my mind as I was driving away from the Healing Place afterContinue reading “Hope is a Thing with Feathers”
The Healing Power of Open Sky and a Large Expanse of Water
6/28/25 This week was a tough one for me. My son Alex’s birthday came and went. All week I was flooded with memories of happy childhood parties, that included super soaker fights, goofy antics and lots of cake. I tried not to dwell too long on Alex’s last earthly birthday, which sadly was the lastContinue reading “The Healing Power of Open Sky and a Large Expanse of Water”
Looking back without staring
Don’t Give Up 5 Minutes Before the Miracle
April 27, 2025 Writing posts for Mindful Musings has not been in the forefront of my mind lately. I continue to journal daily, and I keep up with my personal practices of yoga, meditation and exercise, but my urge to share my writing has been non-existent. Chalk it up to grief or working full-time orContinue reading “Don’t Give Up 5 Minutes Before the Miracle”
Rediscovering Joy
April 6, 2025 Grief is a bugger. It robs you of energy, fills you with uncomfortable and inconvenient emotions at highly inopportune moments and steals your ability to feel happy. Anyone who knew me before my eldest son died in 2023 would have described me as an optimist. I could always see the positive inContinue reading “Rediscovering Joy”
Isolation vs. Solitude
January 6, 2025 This weekend I attended a meeting in which the chairperson brought the topic of isolation vs. solitude. She opened with some research that she had done, shared her own thoughts and then threw the query out to the group to discuss. People in the group had a lot to share and IContinue reading “Isolation vs. Solitude”
Where are my feet?
December 30, 2024 Where are my feet? One of my favorite mindfulness techniques is to ask myself this simple question. My husband has heard this so many times from me in the past 15 years, that he quotes it back to me periodically. We both have dealt with an enormous amount of stress and griefContinue reading “Where are my feet?”
Mindful Musings 