I’ve chosen trailblazers in literature, music, painting, political activism and medicine. Many communities lost their own notable...
Childless by Choice
In my Zoom class on Women’s Spirituality, we watched the film, “A Goddess Remembered,” which put us in touch with the legacy of our female ancestors. In one segment, Jungian psychiatrist, Jean Shinoa Bolen, commented, ‘When I had a child, I felt connected to all the women who came before me.’ The implication was that until she [...]
Pat Taub
Don’t Wait…The Clock is Ticking
GUEST POST by PAT BESSEY Don’t wait! I have heard this before. However, after the loss of my husband LeRoy Lowell in January, it takes on a whole new meaning. This was my third marriage, and we were together for thirty-two years. My first marriage was when I was fifteen, a sophomore in high school and expecting a baby. That marriage ended [...]
Pat Taub
Play, Laugh, Be Silly and Reduce Your Stress
I consider myself lucky because I got the play gene. While my family provided me with enough drama to propel me into therapy for decades, they also gave me a delight in play, in whimsy and in just being silly. We loved playing practical jokes. A box of rubber chocolates lay in wait for unsuspecting guests: a whoopie cushion could be placed [...]
Pat Taub
Why Children Are in Detention
GUEST POST by MARY DUNN “No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.” from, Home by Warsan Shire Those seeking refuge along the southern border are among those who flee violence, poverty, and climate catastrophes from around the world. It is estimated that 26 million people are on the move fleeing their homes. Those who arrive [...]
Pat Taub
Serena, Grandson Max, “Attorney Woo,” & More!
Serena Seeking a break from the world’s upheavals raging from wars to global warming-induced disasters that produced record floods in Pakistan and zero water for Jefferson, Mississippi, I took refuge in watching Serena Williams stage a comeback at the US Open. When Serena announced her retirement, speculators bet she’d lose her first [...]
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
Her Name is Layan
GUEST POST by SALLY BOWDEN-SCHAIBLE (adapted from correspondence with Dr. Jehad Hasanain*) Her name is Layan, meaning “sweetness and ease” in the Arabic language. A 10-year-old girl, the youngest of her siblings, she has long dark brown hair held back from her smiling face with a headband and barrettes. Her smile reaches her even [...]
Pat Taub
Becoming Resilient
In her new memoir, “A Life in Light,” popular author Mary Pipher offers life lessons on becoming resilient by moving into the light. For Pipher, light isn’t just a metaphor but a literal expression of how light restores her. Ever since she was a small child Pipher was drawn to the light. Her first memory is as an infant, lying on a blanket [...]
Pat Taub
Why Art Matters
“Viewing art is the closest we can get to the core of life . . . Art represents the essence of what it means to be alive. Art transforms us.” —Sarah Bouchard, Gallery Owner “Art makes my life better. I see art everywhere I look . . . not just in paintings but in food, in flowers. . . We have always needed art to make our lives [...]
Pat Taub
Spiritual Companionship
GUEST POST by JACOB WATSON At 80, I’ve come to appreciate that the most important component of life is the spiritual realm. I was awakened to this realization through my work with the late Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. She taught us that the spiritual quadrant is an equal part of the four quadrants (intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual) [...]
Pat Taub