This was first published on April 9, 2019. Someone recently brought it to my attention, saying: “This has been taped to my bathroom mirror for so long it’s turned yellow.” It’s the last day of your life. Who will you choose to be? How will you choose to feel?...
I saw one of my Signal Fires quoted in a book (with my permission, but I’d forgotten) I like it, so I’m sharing it again. Which leads me to say that, having been urged by several readers and for several years, I have agreed to go though the past issues of Signal...
I want to share this email I got recently: “I know that you’re retired, but I could really use a reading. Is there any chance you could make an exception for me?” RETIRED? I don’t consider the work I do a job from which I’d want to retire. It’s an ability I...
It’s been a rough few years for many of us, what with COVID and all that has entailed, including loss of jobs and even death. And of course the greater cultural rhetoric—anti-woman, anti-Black, anti-all people of color, anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-immigrant. Etcetera....
From Clarissa Pinkola Estés A Prayer to Open Doors. I would ask you to do this one thing. I would ask you to heal your wounds completely, to the best of your ability, and to let the rest go. I would ask you to heal your wounds completely, insofar as you can, and to...
I’m in love! Yes it’s true, I have fallen in love. 74 years old, and I am completely enthralled. Some of you may know that in the past year I’ve had two total knee replacements. I love my new knees. In fact, I feel about my knees the way you’d feel about a...
I was with a friend when she started talking about her body — it was too fat, her breasts were too small, her hair was too thin, her skin too wrinkled. I interrupted her, crying, “You must stop! I cannot stand by and let you talk about my friend that way!” That got us...
I saw a woman wearing a t-shirt that said, “Let That Shit Go.” I smiled. You were born luminous. You were born gifted. You were born brilliant. You were born one-of-a-kind. You were born all of that, and you are all of that. And you were born into a culture that does...
Here’s something else I’ve discovered is worthy of stalking—assumptions. I’ve been stalking my beliefs for 30 years, and I thought I was pretty good at it. Lately, however, I’ve been inspired to stalk my assumptions. Oh my goodness! Gadzooks! Crikey! Assumptions...
A reader called my attention to this Signal Fire, published 10 years ago. I like it, so I’m sending it again. And I’m pretty sure I’ll have a followup before very long. I stalk beliefs. I lurk around the corners of my mind, listening to what I think and to what I...