Solitude is the soul's holiday, an opportunity to stop doing for others and to surprise and delight ourselves instead.

Now I see that the journey was never meant to lead to some new and improved version of me; that it has always been about coming home to who I already am.

Alone-in moments of prayer or meditation, or simply in stillness-we breathe more deeply, see more fully, hear more keenly. We notice more, and in the process, we return to what is sacred.

...there is no such thing as a charmed life, not for any of us, no matter where we live or how mindfully we attend to the tasks at hand. But there are charmed moments, all the time, in every life and in every day, if we are only awake enough to experience them when they come and wise enough to appreciate them.

Growth and transformation occur not by changing who we are, but as we summon the courage to be who we are.

we can learn to trust our maternal selves and to have faith in the innate goodness and purity of our children - even when we feel overwhelmed and the kids are pushing all our buttons. we can support one another....we can be understanding of each other and easier on ourselves.

Stay focused on what is beautiful and abundant even as illness carves more and more of what you love away