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“The greatest gift you can give another person is the gift of your loving presence.” — Henri Nouwen If there is one truth I have learned after many years of thinking, researching, pondering, living, parenting, grandparenting, befriending, companioning, partnering and especially listening to my husband, John: we are here to love and to be loved.  Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing hidden beneath it. That is what the spiritual healers and wisdom teachers have told us for thous

“Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening.”— Parker J. Palmer For many years, my father did not like Santa. Nor December. Not even the Christmas season. He was a bit of a Grinch. But not because his heart was two sizes too small. It was something different. He loved Jesus with a steady, serious devotion. He was a minister. He believed Christmas mattered. And because it mattered so much, he felt protective of it. Anything that felt like a distraction

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples." — Mother Teresa For years, my husband John began his days with a simple purpose: “To improve the quality of life of each person I have the opportunity to touch.” As I have mentioned previously. As a dentist, that meant much more than fixing teeth. It meant smiling at patients, listening to their worries, encouraging their courage, and creating a calm place where fear could disso

“Purpose is not a luxury of the successful. It is a basic human need — the engine of a meaningful life.” Dr. William Damon (Stanford, purpose research pioneer) “Purpose isn’t about achievement. It is about engagement — and even a modest sense of purpose can change the trajectory of your health and life.” Dr. Patricia Boyle (Rush Alzheimer’s project) “Purpose begins the moment we turn our attention from what we want from  the world to what we want to contribute  to it.” Dr. Ke

And so when we're doing things that light us up, we're being purposeful...Dr. Jordan Grumet On Sundays, I take six or so kids, including...

Values provide perspective in the best of times and the worst. Charles Garfield . Here’s one early takeaway from this article.  A simple...

“…I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”...

“All any of us wanted, really, was to know that we counted. That someone else's life would not have been as rich without us here.” ― Jodi...