I keep seeing glimpses of something I deeply want to believe: that we're more connected than divided, that communication could bring us together. I see it in moments when someone reaches across difference with genuine curiosity. When people hold their convictions strongly while still extending compassion to those who see things differently. When someone says "I don't agree with you, but I hear you." Those moments remind me it's possible. And then I watch how we actually commu

I was telling a friend how I had started adding more protein to my diet. Before I could even finish explaining - alongside the fiber and good fats I've always prioritized - he laughed. "Oh, so you're on the protein train now!" I felt myself pause. The protein train? The one where people are consuming 130, 150, sometimes 200 grams a day? Where protein becomes the entire conversation about nutrition? 🌿 Before you stop reading because this sounds like a nutrition piece - it's n

On January 2nd, I got an email with the subject line: "Already struggling with your New Year's resolutions?" Day two. Thirty-six hours into the new year and someone's marketing algorithm had already decided I'd failed. It made me laugh at first. But then I kept thinking about it. Because if something genuinely matters to you—if you're truly connected to it—does it fall apart in two days? Real resolution doesn't require constant willpower. It emerges from connection. From know

I was checking out at a store recently, still wearing a fleece I'd just had on for an appointment. The cashier complimented it, and I found myself telling her something I'd been rejoicing in for the past month: "I've had this for twenty years, but I've only worn it a handful of times until this season." For two decades, I looked at this fleece as a jacket—something for crisp autumn days when the weather required outerwear but hadn't yet demanded a real coat. The problem was,

As I write this, we're entering the season that's supposed to be about connection. Thanksgiving dinners, holiday gatherings, year-end celebrations with family and friends. Norman Rockwell paintings showing tables full of laughter, homes filled with warmth, communities coming together in joy. This is the time, we're told, when we belong. But here's what I've been noticing lately - a pattern in how conversations actually go, or don't go. A friend suggests I watch a video about

In the past few days, two seemingly unrelated experiences had one thing in common - which led me to a bigger question about who decides what's real anymore. First, an article about detecting AI-generated content. Look for em dashes, it advised. Blue diamond bullet points. Particular word patterns. I've used em dashes for years. I hunted down those blue diamonds because I love color. My word choices have always been unconventional. Then a talk show caller insisted some public

Halloween is dead. Well, not yet, but I'm already grieving it. It's October 29th, and I'm making breakfast thinking about how much I'm going to miss this season once it's over. I do this every year. Start mourning Halloween before it's even happened. And the big box stores aren't helping. I went in early October and half their glorious 10-foot ghouls and macabre displays had already been shoved aside for Santa and his relentlessly cheerful elves. Can we not? I love Halloween,

A few months ago I wrote about discovering resilience when a summer storm knocked out our power. But that same storm also took down seven trees in our backyard - and facing that challenge taught me something different about where real strength actually comes from. We faced a choice about how to respond. We could have left the fallen timber where it lay, avoiding the overwhelming task of cleanup. We could have hired a crew to come in, clear everything efficiently, and restore

I was staring at a team building poster the other day – you know the kind, with bold letters declaring "There's no I in TEAM." And while I nodded along with the sentiment, something else caught my attention: if you rearrange those same letters, you can spell "Me." That realization stopped me in my tracks. Not because it undermines the value of teamwork, but because it illuminates something we often miss: teams need individuals who feel valued, who have purpose, who find meani

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Have you ever felt exhausted by the constant pressure to choose sides? A year ago, I found myself thinking about something that had been bothering me for a while. Everywhere I looked – in wellness advice, news headlines, social media debates – everything was becoming increasingly black and white. You're either thriving or failing. You follow THE perfect morning routine or you're doing it wrong. You're on this side or that side, right or wrong, good or bad. But life isn't that

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Well, that happened. Last weekend started out lovely, with multiple get-togethers with friends, enjoying the beautiful weather despite...

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Sometimes the most profound lessons emerge not from what we've completed, but from what we're still in the middle of figuring out. I...