Black History in the Making
February is Black History Month, and I’ve seen more opportunities for learning than I have in years past. I attribute the uptick in program offerings to the events of 2020. It’s been nine months since awareness of the racial injustice Black Americans face every day was raised after the killing of George Floyd and the phone call to NYPD by Amy Cooper in Central Park,...
Give The Gift of Presence
It seems everywhere I turn, the word “presence” is coming up. To me, presence means being mindful, aware and focused on who I’m with or what I’m doing. I’ll be honest, it’s not always easy to do. I find myself multi-tasking when my husband is talking to me, texting my cousins while cooking, or noticing my mind wandering when talking with friends....
It’s Fall, Y’all
Despite living in North Carolina for almost 20 years before moving to Washington, D.C. five years ago, I never fully took to saying “y’all”. Growing up in California, “y’all” was not really in my lexicon. Not only was “y’all” not part of our regional dialect, even more significantly, my mom was an English teacher. ”Y’all” and “ain’t” were up there together in her book of words we...
Merits of Meditation
Last month I wrote about the benefits of meditation, and the topic continues to be one that is important to me, especially during this challenging time in our collective lives. We are halfway through 2020, and we’ve been in lockdown for half that time. Meditation has helped me maintain my calm composure during this period of extreme uncertainty, first with the pandemic and now with racial...
Meditation for Mental Health and More
May is both Mental Health Month and Meditation Month, and while we are nearing the end of the month, I want to discuss the connection between these two important topics. Meditation can be a great tool for reducing anxiety and stress, which directly impacts one’s mental health. I’ve been a daily meditator for the past five years, after being a crisis or sporadic meditator for 2-3 years,...
