Early in my career, I landed a coveted university job that came with a cozy on-campus apartment in a dorm, which, I grant you, may not sound enticing. But the perk was offered by Roger Williams University, which perches above the Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, Rhode Island. Through my picture windows, I delighted in million-dollar views of the sparkling bay through the tree line. Residing in a dorm engenders drawbacks, though, including occasionally having to address student disruptions late into the night. One morning, after one of those long nights, I hit the snooze bar and, without even getting…

They say a picture is worth 1000 words, but it is more often true that 1000 words evoke more than a picture ever could. While doing some decluttering the other day, I came across my senior yearbook and flipped through it to revisit some of my younger years. The 77 Gate: a slim volume with a stylized red-on-white cover opening to a black-and-white photo album. Groups of students staged in varying arrays representing each class, sports team, and student organization (although unhelpfully identified by first initial, last name only). Faculty and staff in several columns of informal headshots. Pages of…

In January of 2022, one of my besties and I met up in Somers Point, New Jersey (Maria from Florida, me from Delaware) to hold the first of what has become our annual retreat weekend. It was an idea only two consultants could think up: deliberately spend time to contemplate where we were and where we were going on our career and life trajectories. We invested time beforehand to identify and customize formal reflection and planning activities, to set ourselves a schedule of events, and to scope out a good location with comfortable living quarters, meeting space, sights to see,…

The wise ocean tides call to me season after season to offer thinking space, and deep breathing, and subtle lessons for a flourishing life. The rhythmic ebb and flow alternately lulls and startles – pulsing like a slowly ticking clock and unsettling with its turbulent inflows and retreats. The tide’s power is sometimes evident in the beached flotsam, broken shells, and sadly lifeless creatures – sometimes evident in sand stripped barren, leaving only deep, now-dry runnels – always evident in the thriving, ever-changing ecosystem of dunes and rock and sand and sea. For me, there is something irresistible about the…

There is no more stalwart timekeeper than a tree; the count of its rings reveals its age. The lighter part of the ring is formed in the growing season (wider in years of favorable sun, temperature, and precipitation), while the darker edge marks the dormant period in fall and winter.  These rings also hold the tree’s life story; scientists can identify times when the tree thrived and when it struggled, when it was shocked with episodes of fire, lightning, insects, or earthquake. Humans, too, often have lines to show their age – around the eyes and mouth, in their hands.…

To understand my sunset alarm, you’ll need a quick background story… Back in February, I embarked on the lamentable but necessary project of packing away holiday decorations. In my case, Christmas décor consists almost entirely of a collection of 75-ish snow people figurines that need to be individually wrapped and carefully organized in plastic tubs – so undecorating is something of a project. The task is not complete until I stack the tubs in a closet and run a cleaning cloth and vacuum over remaining dust bunnies. That evening’s effort ran through dinnertime so I took quick breaks to make…