While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in...
Thinking About Death
While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in a recent late-night phone call that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. (To preserve my brother’s [...]
Pat Taub
Climate Change9
Can Radical Empathy Turn the Tide?
I spent the Labor Day weekend at my country retreat in midcoast Maine where I own a cottage on a quiet country road sprinkled with modest homes. I make a practice of taking daily walks on this road, which I like to think of as my walking meditations. On Saturday I stopped in my tracks after noticing a flag at a home’s entrance. The words [...]
Pat Taub
How Women Give Away Their Power
Women give away their power when they accommodate in a way that stifles their voices, where they don’t honor themselves, but silence themselves because they fear upsetting the other and putting the relationship in jeopardy. It’s a hard pattern to break because, since the beginning of time, women have been conditioned to please others, [...]
Pat Taub
No More (Empty) Earth Days
GUEST POST by JANET WEIL “Who should decide how best to use the resources of the earth? What are the most effective ways to build a more sustainable future?” – Adam Rome, “The Genius of Earth Day” Three years ago, early in the global COVID pandemic, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, I wrote a guest blog post, a remembrance of [...]
Pat Taub
Kindness is Essential
It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with the human problem all one’s life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than ‘try to be a little kinder.’ –Aldous Huxley Huxley isn’t alone. The Buddhist tradition emphasizes kindness and compassion as central to a meaningful life. [...]
Pat Taub
Beach Bodies, A Great Read & Streaming Series, Elizabeth Strout & More!
Beach Bodies As summer heats up (at alarming temps), more and more older women are donning bathing suits as they take to the beach, swimming pools or lakes. While putting on a bathing suit can be daunting as our bodies age, the Spanish government has launched a campaign encouraging women of all ages and shapes to hit the beaches with the [...]
Pat Taub
Halloween, Mia Mottley, “The Nutmeg’s Curse” & More
Halloween My spirited 17 y.o. granddaughter from Oak Park, Il. dressed as the Grim Reaper for Halloween. Her costume symbolizes the concerns of so many young people, who are desperately worried about their future during these times of climate emergency. Videos from Glasgow show throngs of young climate activists cramming city blocks around [...]
Pat Taub
Summer Reads For Every Mood
This year’s list of summer reads are books that I got so lost in that I stayed up well past my usual bedtime, or overlooked social gatherings with friends. I’ve compiled a wide range of books to fit a variety of moods, transporting you to 17th century Boston, the worlds of magic realism, psychological thrillers, and important social thinkers. [...]
Pat Taub
CA Fires, A New Diet, A New Play & More!
California’s Fires I’ve been following the horrific California fires, and grateful that my son who lives in Santa Monica has been spared evacuation and fires near him, but I can’t stop thinking about the long term implications of California’s raging fires. Does it mean as the climate activist, Bill McKibben, asserts that California [...]
Pat Taub
“Compassionate Journey,” Bonn Climate Change Conference, Portland Yard Signs & More
“Compassionate Journey:” A Nonfiction Book in Pre-Publication This week I had tea with Jane Sloven (pictured below) where she shared the manuscript for her collaborative book project, “Compassionate Journey.” Jane and four other women have produced a collection of their mother stories. I’m very moved by this endeavor because it [...]
Pat Taub