Moodboard

In his extensive research, Lopez learned that only 50% of people measure high in hope. But he also found that hope can be learned. And that gives me hope.

In 1984, J.L. married my sister Judy. Kindred spirits with tender hearts, J.L. and Judy regularly and quietly performed countless acts of kindness for the people in their lives. J.L. never asked for anything in return, except maybe a Snickers bar or the exchange of funny stories. J.L. excelled at kidding around and teasing the people he loved best.

I’m here to advocate for coasting from time to time. Because coasting isn’t sitting still. It’s forward motion. Effortless progress. Most importantly, coasting can allow you time to rebuild energy so you can start pedaling again. Like the relationship between potential and kinetic energy: within movement there’s potential, and within potential there is movement.

To my surprise, I discovered that being bad at ballroom dancing doesn’t matter. With so few places left in the country to cha-cha-cha, dancers of all kinds and skill levels are welcomed with eager, open arms. Everyone who tries is adorable, and anyone who’s pretty good is amazing. It’s a happy place, that dance floor.

“If I can see you, I can hear you.” If you want it to be, this could be a message to the world. It might also be a fundamental tool for practicing mindfulness. To me, it’s just helping my sweetie and me spend more minutes in the day looking into each other’s eyes.

Chuck did not play on the surface of his work, his photography, his interests, his relationships, or himself. He was the kind of person who dug deep. He’d study and study something until he realized it was impossible to know everything, but it was possible to understand what mattered.

If only I could speak with the world’s greatest authorities on the pandemic, but they just need a little more time to process. They are in grade school right now, living through it.

We’re like a group of kids perched on the side of a swimming pool: some are diving in gracefully, some are still testing the water temperature, others are tip-toeing in one step at a time, and others are taking the cannonball approach: spuh-LASH! There is no one right way to get back in the swim.

This is life. This is family. This is the bad with the good, the anxiety with the anticipation. And after the fact, you can choose what to do with the memories you make from the experiences you had.

May is nature. May is flavor. May is community. May is new beginnings. Because in May there’s nearly no chance of winter coming back, I will frivolously buy at least one new sundress because I know I’m going to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. To sum it up, May is grounded in joy.

What are your favorite Springtime traditions? Here’s a new one: on the first day of April, I always buy a bunch of bananas in honor of my Mom.

Simply by paying attention, people start interpreting more things that go their way as being “lucky.” But what if they paid attention to every conspiracy that happens to them? Or curse? Or blessing? Or miracle? In this way, you do make your own reality. If you look for luck, it’s there. So are conspiracies, curses, blessings, or miracles. I say, let’s all look for the good stuff.

What I can grasp, dear Judy, is that in a world of jumpy attention spans and relationships with fine print, you are the real deal and so is your legacy. You can’t manufacture your kind of love nor can you fully measure its impact.

Having resolve is different than making a resolution. A resolution is the stated goal. Resolve is what gets you there. Having resolve, we believe, is the kind of mental state which can lift us up from a year like 2020 to whatever lies ahead.

Having resolve is different than making a resolution. A resolution is the stated goal. Resolve is what gets you there. Having resolve, we believe, is the kind of mental state which can lift us up from a year like 2020 to whatever lies ahead.

This is my daily reminder to try new ways of doing familiar things and to allow myself to wonder by embracing -- not fearing -- failure. Because in art, failure gets you one step closer to beautiful.

When it comes to home cooking, my idea of food pairing is a “colorful plate.” With chicken (white), you serve carrots (orange) and broccoli (dark green) as sides, and maybe some strawberry (red) shortcake for dessert. You know, to go with white wine. A (brown) meat loaf with (orange) cheese on top might call for lima beans (pale green) and yellow squash, and maybe some Jello chocolate pudding for dessert. You know, to go with red wine.

Music is a magic trick I can’t figure out. Music can take me away, and music can bring me back. How does it do that?

As I say good-bye to my friend, hundreds of thousands of other people across the country are trying to figure out how to carry on without the person they loved. Their grief is amplified because they know all too well what’s happening to the forest and the trees.... not just what we can see above ground but deep below the surface. Can you feel it too? That unsteadiness in the earth below your feet is the crumbling of our collective roots.