A-Muse-In-Manhattan

10/25/2022

As we settle into autumn, time to Harvest

Musings of A Certified Life, Leadership and Empowerment Coach

08/04/2021

A month later, a little something about my Avventura Siciliana ...
http://a-muse-in-manhattan.blogspot.com/2021/08/two-weeks-in-sicily-not-italy-sicily.html

After a year of lockdowns, viruses and variants, cancellations, limitations, sheltering in place and other pandemic-related interruptions, w...

05/09/2020

She presented this pre-pandemic, but it resonates especially strongly this Mother's Day during these especially uncertain times
Happy pre Mother's Day

There's a simple and powerful way to confront the world's most pressing crises, says women's rights activist Yifat Susskind: think like a mother. As she puts it: "When you think like a mother, you prioritize the needs of the many, not the whims of the few." Follow along as she shares moving stories....

05/02/2020

Pandemic free moments: How this Upper West Sider is surviving Spring 2020

White pink mauve violet purple fuchsia scarlet burgundy. Yellow orange red indigo. And, of course, green. Explosions of color bursting r...

04/17/2020

From the sadness, sacrifice, solitude, self-reflection
Comes renewal, re-creation, regeneration, rebirth
Happy Easter, everyone

04/08/2020

Sacrifice (Latin):
sacra (properly neuter plural of sacer "sacred") +
facere ("to make, to do" from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").

What are you making holy today?
Any action you take can be a sacrifice in the original sense, of making something holy. Anything you approach with added love, attention, care and consideration, is a sacrifice:
Preparing a holiday, or any, meal; devoting a yoga class, prayer or meditation, or workout session, to someone or something; doing some small and/or random act of kindness; cleaning the bathroom.
What sacrifice(s) will you make today?
What will you make holy today?
🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊
(Much of our experience throughout this pandemic feels like a sacrifice in the usual sense: of giving something up, something that you'd like to keep, for God or for others. Which it very much is, and will continue to be for a while longer. Thank you for it.)
🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊

03/26/2020

Silver Lining / Lemonade: How are you taking advantage of the time at home? With the health crisis extending on for who knows how long, many of us will remain housebound for who knows how long ... Many people I know are using this time to discover an exotic and mysterious place: their own kitchen. For some people (especially busy NYC dwellers who live in restaurants and on take out) this room mostly gathers dust and serves as additional storage space. Now might be the perfect time to try out your grand/mother's secret family recipes, research favorite dishes on line and make them yourself, explore new ones, learn to cook healthy and well. So check that stove and oven, and cook up something delicious and nutritious for you and your family, something that feeds the soul as well as the body. Also, please support your local restaurants offering take-out - frequently with wine! We all gotta eat. Let's eat right. Rather than fall into frustration, boredom and despair, let's keep using this time to explore, grow, nourish, have fun, and stay healthy. (And feel free to sneak in a few comfort foods as well ...)

03/22/2020

Silver lining? During trying times, especially this unprecedented, extraordinary period when we need to stay home to stay safe, the Internet's role connecting us to each other and to the outside world becomes more and more important and essential. It's easy to fall down the rabbit hole of all-news-all-the-time, easy to overdose on scary realities as well as the real-sounding rumor and innuendo; easy to fall prey to fake news on social media and other unreliable and sensational "news" outlets ... While it's important to keep current, be sure to use the Internet for that which it was originally intended: P**n!
Kidding - a great medicinal use: binge-watching great television series, films, and documentaries! No one will judge you for spending hours lost in "Lost" or "Schitt's Creek". There's so much excellent, artful content on myriad streaming services; use them to pass the time, laugh, escape for a bit, learn something. I suggest keeping in on the quirky, light side ("Frankie and Grace" "High Maintenance" "Adam Ruins Everything"), save the brilliant but heavy stuff ("Narcos" "Sopranos" "The Wire" "Breaking Bad" etc.) for another day -

03/21/2020

Silver Lining (also, Lemonade):
Get some rest! This weekend, sleep in! Take a nap! Americans, especially New Yorkers, are some of the most sleep-deprived, stress-out people on the planet. Yes, while many of us are working from home, it's easier now to take some time to take a powder. The bed's right there! Rest helps build resistance and immunities, it reduces stress, elevates your mood, allows the body to restore, regenerate, heal. Take a real Day of Rest (God-mandated!), and use this extended time at home to rest your body, calm your mind, heal your heart, and soothe your soul.

03/20/2020

Silver lining (or is it Lemonade?):
Now might also be a perfect opportunity to start that project or begin that practice you've been talking about - but not doing - for years. Take a break from sparking joy with Marie Kondo's tidying tips and

--outline that novel
--start that screenplay or story
--compose that song or poem
--begin that on-line Spanish (or Mandarin, or Arabic, or Italian, or Russian, or Farsi, or Portuguese, or Navaho, or Japanese ...) course
--try out that meditation app
--insert your "I've been meaning to" here

03/19/2020

Silver Lining: unlike other moments in history during a worldwide crisis, we have phones, computers, the Internet, email, FaceTime ... Maybe use this time to reach out to a family member, friend or neighbor you've been meaning to reconnect with. I'm calling Elysa today, for years my 2nd mammita, and Uncle Petie in FL ...
Use our technology and social media to stay in touch while social distancing - (oh sh*t - Trevor Noah just said the same thing!)