Dear friend💜, To feel it all… what a task, especially at this time of year. The mystical veil is so thin. There is so much potential to connect to the deep joy that intertwines us all, and at the same time to touch the deep sorrow that humanity and this earth are holding in this very moment. It is a season that expands into both the dark and the light, stretching us and calling us to slow down, to reflect, to rest, to heal, to love, to grieve, to remember. This time feels like a collective...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Dear friend💜, As I sit and write this, Iowa is being covered by a thick blanket of white for the first time this winter. Sometimes it comes fast and furious with high winds and treacherous visibility. Today, it is gentle but steady. We maybe have half a foot by now, and by tomorrow it may double in depth. My brilliant, scientific son told me last night that although frozen water is clear, snow looks white to us because the beautifully unique crystals refract all the colors of light in so many...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Lessons in presence, healing, and letting the heart lead the way🔥 Dear friends💜, I hope this letter finds you saturated with sweetness from Halloween and resting. :) Did you know November 1 is All Saints’ Day—a Christian holiday set to coincide with Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival marking summer’s end and inspiring modern Halloween? It’s a time when the veil between the living and the dead feels thin, like the merging of seasons—where one day it still feels like summer and the next...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Dear friends💜, What a month it has been! A few weeks ago, as I sat on my porch with my morning cup of tea, I noticed the leaves on the oak tree quivering in the breeze. It wasn’t a gentle rustling—they were trembling and shaking, just as I felt that morning. Being a sensitive soul, I’m sometimes prone to nightmares, more horrendous than one could imagine in the light of day or ever consciously conjure. After those nights, I’m grateful that my schedule often allows me to linger in the...
4 months ago • 4 min read
Dear friends💜, I hope this finds you enjoying some peace today soaking in the last of “summer” before we plunge into the busy, often exhausting season that September brings—with new school years, agendas, and programming. Light-filled, relaxing days are slowly waning, and I feel the pull of the earth’s energy—the anticipation and hurried preparation for the harvest. Last weekend, I hosted my first Vocal Empowerment overnight retreat at Prairiewoods Spirituality Center. It was an INCREDIBLE...
5 months ago • 5 min read
Dear friends💜, I am sending you lots of love and light today! Summer always seems to disappear so quickly when all I want to do is sit in the sun and let it sink into my bones. A few days ago it was my birthday. Usually, the day is full of heat and sun at the end of July but this time it started with a gentle thunderstorm and brought blessed cool, cloudy weather to replace an intense heat wave in the Midwest. Being a Leo, I have relied on the shining sun to fuel my days and when the day is...
6 months ago • 4 min read
Dear friends💜, It is July! I am partial to this month—not only because my birthday rounds it out, but also because I love the sun, the warmth, and the vivid green that stretches for miles and miles, field after field. I always think the green in Iowa in July, before the corn tassels, is like an ocean rolling in the wind—or as close as a Midwesterner can get :) I’ve had some time this month to rest and explore what my body is trying to teach me, which was much needed. I’ve been working through...
7 months ago • 3 min read
Dear friends💜, I hope this letter finds you well! I just returned from my journey to Ireland—what can I say? It’s an incredibly beautiful and magical place. The privilege of having the health and means to travel is not lost on me. Just five days before my trip, I ended up in the hospital with a serious skin infection—possibly from a bug bite? After lots of IV fluids, antibiotics, and four days in the hospital, I was miraculously discharged on Sunday afternoon and managed to drive to Chicago...
8 months ago • 3 min read
Dear friends💜, Happy May Day! Did you know the old Celtic name for May Day is Beltane which is derived from Gaelic meaning 'Bel-fire', the fire of the Celtic god of light? I remember in my young childhood decorating little green plastic strawberry containers with my mother to make May baskets full of homemade goodies for our neighbors. Spring is so full of light, hope, new life and aching beauty. In Iowa, this week feels like the essence of spring. Brilliant blossoms contrasted with crisp...
9 months ago • 3 min read