life

Like many others, I completed the Ice Bucket Challenge when it became a cultural phenomenon in 2014. Created by Anthony Senerchia, Pat Quinn, and Pete Frates, who were living with ALS and have since died from the disease, the challenge involved being doused with a…

After a great deal of introspection, I decided for this month’s column to reflect on my life as it stands now. I wanted to write about it without being too ominous and dreadful, but I don’t think that’s possible. My love for music prompted the headline, because within the…

In the Jan. 23 episode of “The Happiness Lab” podcast, Simone Stolzoff, author of the book “The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work,” argues that we should stop hunting for the perfect job. Stolzoff and podcast host Laurie Santos, a psychology professor, discuss how society’s view of work…

During the years I taught yoga, I always enjoyed explaining the concept of effort and ease. It’s the feeling of holding a yoga pose with the right amount of force. Not too much, not too little — just right. Little did I know how, years later, an expanded version of…

Every Memorial Day, I go with my mom, daughter, and son to the Lakeside Cemetery in Hancock, Michigan, to attend a ceremony honoring veterans. I drive separately in case I need to return home quickly to help my husband, Todd, who has ALS. The ceremony ends with the…

“Ride a painted pony, Let the spinnin’ wheel spin.” Recently, I had a flashback to those lyrics by David Clayton-Thomas and recorded by the band Blood, Sweat & Tears. They speak to me on many levels.  The…