GUEST POST by MICHAEL STEINMAN Imagine you’ve had a visible medical scare: a dermatologist has carved a chunk out of your forehead,...
Say These Five Words
GUEST POST by MICHAEL STEINMAN Imagine you’ve had a visible medical scare: a dermatologist has carved a chunk out of your forehead, or perhaps you are using crutches. But you have a lunch date with your best friend, and as [...]
Pat Taub
Mary Oliver10
Poetry: A Balm for Troubled Times
For poems are not words after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, and sometimes as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry. —Mary Oliver To paraphrase Oliver, poetry isn’t just an art form, but a powerful medicine. Poems are a reminder when we are hurting that there is beauty in the world, and when we [...]
Pat Taub
Finding Your Voice
Finding your voice is coming home to yourself, being true to what matters to you, and no longer suppressing your feelings. The noted Canadian psychiatrist, Gabor Mate, refers to finding your voice as acting with agency. In this recent book, “The Myth of Normal,” he contends that nice women, who do for others at the expense of their [...]
Pat Taub
How I Learned to Embrace Poetry
Because of the way I was introduced to poetry, it took me awhile to develop an appreciation for poetry. In middle school I was forced to memorize classic poems like Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” I remember standing in front of my 8th grade class, woodenly reciting the poem, then sitting down and that was that. Frost’s poem wasn’t [...]
Pat Taub
Awakening to Magic
During a recent visit with a woman minister, she described being called to the ministry by a woman she barely knew, who approached her with a vision of my friend as a minister. In exchange I related the time I was in Crete and wandered into an olive grove, where I felt strong vibrations, provoking tears of familiarity, as if I were revisiting [...]
Pat Taub
The Path to Becoming a Happy Older Woman
Given all the ageism and sexism smacking older women in the face aging can be a dismal state for many women. Mary Pipher to the rescue! In her book, Women Rowing North, Pipher makes the case for a happy old age: “Happiness depends on how we deal with what we are given.” Piper interviews older women from all walks of life who have triumphed [...]
Pat Taub
Autumn As a Time of Renewal
At autumn we leave summer behind and anticipate cooler temperatures with joyful images of cozy sweaters, glorious foliage and sitting by the fireplace. But autumn can be much more than reenacting nostalgic traditions. It can be a time of renewal. As the days grow darker I am called to deep reflection, reviewing the past year and then doing [...]
Pat Taub
The Older Woman Warrior
Who’s the older woman warrior? She’s the older woman, who believes in doing her part to make her community and the world a kinder, more just place. She cares deeply about the planet her children and grandchildren will inherit. She’s not afraid to stick her neck out. She figures she doesn’t have much to lose given her advanced age. [...]
Pat Taub
Key West, A Movie Theater Movie, Kids in Cages, Mary Oliver
Key West Images I’m still vacationing in Key West, which is resplendent with memorable images, like the photo looking up at the island’s famous Banyan Trees, or the artful photo of “free” items arranged in front of a shot gun house. Key West is a place where photo-worthy pictures abound. [...]
Pat Taub
October Surprise, Katie Porter, A Must-See Film & More!
October Surprise I doubt that anyone anticipated an “October Surprise” in the form of Herr and Frau Trump testing positive for COVID. Will Trump prove to be a super spreader given his close contact with reporters and staff on Air Force One along with the huge maskless crowds he’s addressed recently? This morning on “Democracy Now” [...]
Pat Taub
Are You Tending to Your Soul?
This is a tricky question because the soul is intangible, mysterious and hard to grasp, yet we recognize when our soul is awakened. Our world lights up, transporting us to another dimension. I feel soulful when I create a bouquet from wild flowers, re-engage with a long-lost friend, listen to Mozart, or take a solitary walk on country roads. [...]
Pat Taub