For the past five years, I have visited my mother’s grave weekly. Each time I stare at her name on the headstone, I journey somewhere inside that I don’t always frequent amidst my frenzied daily routine. I pause. I reflect. I think about the night before she passed away. Her faraway gaze. Her tone, which was both matter-of-fact and soft.…
Category: Totable Muse
The Road Ahead: 2017
Back in the days of sleepaway camp, we had cheesy themes for each summer: “Super great in ’88.” “Feeling fine in ’89.” You get the picture. With that in mind, why not aim to be “supreme in ’17.” We leave each year committed and convinced—or at least hopeful—that we are going to be better versions of ourselves the following…
Advice to College Students: Be Awesome!
Some tips to help you to uncover your fearless, amazing, and aspiring self. Laugh, smile, have fun. Take all that life has to offer you with a sense of humor and an open heart. Life won’t always be fun, but that doesn’t mean it’s all struggle and strife, either. Your attitude will guide how you react to the various situations…
Everyday is a Good Day
At 85 years old, my father reads the Wall Street Journal cover-to-cover daily, sometimes devoting hours a day to perusing through it. He cuts out articles for me weekly: editorials on sports, education, books he supposes I will want to read; commentaries on entrepreneurs, and companies that I have worked with, or for. To me, the articles signify his interest…
So You Want To Write A Book
If I had a dollar for all of the times someone has told me that they want to write a book, I would be a millionaire many times over. Most folks have a story mulling around in their brains—whether it’s fact or fiction—and many seem to think that the world would benefit if their story was shared. Perhaps. One thing…
Yoga Journey: What We Find, What We Seek
The beginning I started practicing yoga in 1995. A close friend invited me to a vinyasa yoga class and then a week later I took a class offered by the New York Road Runners Club taught by Beryl Bender Birch, whose husband Thom Birch was a gifted runner as well as yogi. Beryl and Thom inspired me and introduced…
Truth, Dare, and Consequences
In the late 1980’s, when I was in my senior year of high school, my girlfriends and I would often buy alcoholic beverages, drive up to the desolate roof of the Kings Plaza Mall parking lot in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, get out of our cars, and sit around in a circle on the floor to play truth, dare, and consequences.…
The Guide to Common Grammar Crimes and Tips to Solve Them
As an undergraduate, I had an English professor that insisted that grammar was critical to content. He didn’t care how great an idea or concept in a paper was if the grammar was off. “People notice the details,” he said. “You wouldn’t wear an impeccable suit and not comb your hair.” So I suppose that’s when my commitment to grammar…
How To Make Your Job Work For You
In my 20’s, I worked for a boss that would have qualified for anyone’s worst nightmare. Demeaning, demanding, ready to pass the blame, needy and long-winded: check. My first week, I learned that seven 20-somethings who had the role before me had all quit. I was in graduate school at the time, and combined with a 40+ hour work week,…
Why We All Need to Get Grittier
Grit is one of those words that we toss around and use synonymously with bravery, courage, tenacity, perseverance, resolution, and so on. And it is all of those things, but I would venture to say that grit spans beyond the typical definitions: it is a mindset. A choice. A decision on how you pursue and tackle each and every aspect…