For a while now, my husband and I have responded, "You do know," whenever one of us sighs with confusion and says, "I don't know." It's a pact we made after catching ourselves using this excuse far too often. I've become better about this habit, but I still have a long way to go. Recently, I...
In just a couple weeks, I'll be taking a sabbatical. The word, from Latin (sabbaticus), Greek (sabbatikos), and Hebrew (shabbat) means "ceasing." Or in other words, a sabbatical is a rest from...
I know it's happened to you. You have that freak-out moment when you realize that your world is simply too cluttered. You absolutely must--at this very moment--clear out your closet. Or your top...
Is there something you've been wanting to try? Do you long to learn something new? Do you wonder whether it's okay for you to noodle around on a guitar, or sign up for a drawing class, or try your...
When we don't leave room in our plans, we squash the possibility of surprise. What's worse, we often don't realize we're limiting ourselves. Picture two actors onstage, beginning an improvised...
In The Art of Possibility, Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander point out that this harmless little question might not be so harmless after all. Why? Well, the underlying question for most of...
Patricia Newman is the author of numerous books, including Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and Ebola: Fears and Facts. She is a passionate literacy advocate and...
How do you consume stories? Do you read them? Listen to them? Watch them? Play them out? How many stories have you consumed today? This week? I'll venture to guess that stories are a staple of your...
I’ve never been much of a numbers girl. When someone asks what nine times twelve is, I’m reminded of those pages filled with multiplication problems and the clock tick, tick, ticking away. Even now,...
Dorothy wanted to find her way home. Harry Potter longed to have his parents back. Luke Skywalker craved an epic adventure. These desires were strong, strong enough to cause Dorothy, Harry and Luke...
