This is my first roundup of the highlights from my Golden Rule resolution….that is…my resolution to live out the Golden Rule in as many ways as possible in 2023. First up, whereas this, pre-scalawags had been something we always used to do, but had stopped doing it in the last few years. It is soContinue reading “Week 1: The Golden Rule Rules”
Tag Archives: Contentment
It’s been a summer
School starts today. Yesterday, I took my boys for one last “hoorah” to our favorite little theme park, amid a million other little errands. I got them a frozen treat (a blue slushy is for one, strawberry ice cream cone for the other). I asked, “So what was the highlight of your summer?” And inContinue reading “It’s been a summer”
Will Work For Magic
How quickly we forget. And by we, I mean I. There’s nothing magical in Ideal Life Exercise, and while I talk big talk about fairy dust and magical moments, the whole magic thing is just a way to describe something that has an outsized impact for good. Magic in Lily-ese just means something that makesContinue reading “Will Work For Magic”
An Honored Guest
I got some pushback from a listener about something I’ve been saying in the podcast. It wasn’t a criticism, per se, but you know me. Once I start overthinking something, I can’t let it go. The listener’s sticking point was that she doesn’t like it when I say we should “treat ourselves like an honoredContinue reading “An Honored Guest”
A Contentment Reboot
Ugh. Do you know what it is time to do in my house? Declutter. Again. I’m overwhelmed. Again. I’m overwhelmed, but not in the way I can be. Lately, I don’t mind it when the boys get out every. single. Playmobil. toy to create their worlds. Or when they dump out the huge bin ofContinue reading “A Contentment Reboot”
A Sneaky Little Thing Called Joy
Of course, I’m still over here ruminating on the subject of joy. Incidentally, I probably shouldn’t have used the word ruminating in the previous sentence, but it does allow me to show off something interesting I learned about psychology this week: Rumination on meta-thoughts, that is, thoughts about our thoughts is found more frequently inContinue reading “A Sneaky Little Thing Called Joy”
That lady who smiles all the time
In France, our masking mandates were all lifted as of Monday. I can almost 100% guarantee that around the dinner table on Monday night, everyone was having the exact same conversation, and that it went like this: “Someone said hello to me, and I had no idea who it was,” Person 1 says. “Then IContinue reading “That lady who smiles all the time”
Demolition
There is a building on the road to the scalawag’s school that has been being demolished for the last six months. This has provided endless fascination to us. It’s not a ka-boom type demolition. This is a–maybe 15 story–building, made of concrete with all its rebar and glorious asbestos, being torn down bit by bit.Continue reading “Demolition”
You can’t fake joy
So…day 2 of trying to serve my family with joy was not so great. Firstly, my youngest is in a phase where he is waking up again at 5:00AM. Now that the two boys are sharing a room, this means my eldest is also waking up at 5:00AM. Only yesterday morning, my eldest was theContinue reading “You can’t fake joy”
What is “serving”, anyway?
Hah! Yesterday, I wrote about how I was told, in that quiet little secret place in my heart reserved for the words that definitely are not my idea, that if I wanted to start living miracles and amazing situations again, that I needed to start serving my family with joy. Already, my first afternoon, Sunday,Continue reading “What is “serving”, anyway?”
Sing With Your Feet 