Thursday, November 20, 2014

To Love One Thing

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman
 muffins
When I was a kid, I used to love to sit at the top of my jungle gym and watch the goings on of the neighborhood. My fence cornered two others, and I could see four more backyards besides. I knew which couples got along and which were fighting. I knew where dogs hid their bones. I watched swimming pools dug and gardens planted and other kids swinging so high I thought they wanted to marry the sky. I could tell you what time each family ate dinner and when the moms made their kids sit down to homework. I was a human calendar that could have divulged the events of many days before they even unfolded.
Then one fall, shortly before Thanksgiving, something unexpected happened: A man in my neighborhood became enamored with baking muffins—blueberry, banana nut, ginger lemon, chocolate chip, jalapeƱo cheddar, onion walnut—you name it, he baked it. Oh how he came alive! This once very ordinary, nondescript man, who I’d never bothered to watch much before, was now lit with the fire of passion. He was radiant as he stood over the stovetop in his apron and mitts, face aglow with oven light and infatuation, waiting for his muffins to cool. He was radiant and happy, and he made others happy too. Neighborhood children began to hang around his yard and driveway to watch him bag up muffins at his worktable in the garage. Women stopped by with casseroles in hopes of receiving muffins in return. Everyone offered help when they saw him repairing a board in his fence or trimming back a hedge. The bottom line is that this man adored muffins, and through loving muffins he loved the world and the world loved him back.
Because it was close to Thanksgiving, I began to associate my muffin-baking neighbor with the concept of gratitude, and it occurred to me then, as it does now, that there are few greater ways to express thanks for these lives we have been given than to find something that thrills us and to spend our time doing it.
When we brim, when we shimmer, when we glow with love for something, anything, we become conduits of magic, and we ourselves become gifts to the world. I don’t care if it’s muffins or poetry or nursing or duct tape art or spelunking or carving idyllic picnic scenes into egg shells; when we love what we do, that love becomes an elixir for all who are lucky enough to know us. We are not only expressing our appreciation for our lives; we are giving others reason to be thankful for us too.
To read the rest of this post, visit Psychology Today.

Monday, September 15, 2014





I am so excited and honored to announce that my poetry collection, I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast, has been released. Yay. Yippee. Hooray. Hot Diggity Dog. POET OVER THE MOON!

Friday, April 25, 2014

Tiferet Talk with Molly Fisk



I'm so excited! This Tuesday I get to talk with Molly Fisk AND Donna Baier Stein. We'll be talking about Molly's essay collection, Blow-Drying a Chicken, as well as her poetry and other work. Here's a great blurb from John Updike: "Molly's voice is crisp and decided yet relaxed and just close enough somehow...and the pieces all are impeccably shaped and written. Fearless, clear-eyed work."

And I can attest that Blow-Drying a Chicken is delightful, and Molly's poetry is brave, skillful and beautiful.

Donna Baier Stein will be joining me as the new co-host of Tiferet Talk!

Details Here: http://tiferetjournal.com/42114-molly-fisk-3/

Monday, April 21, 2014




I'm pleased to announce that The Tiferet Talk Interviews book was selected as a finalist for Foreward Review's 2013 Book of the Year Award/IndieFab Awards.

Sunday, April 13, 2014


Many thanks to Gloria Lee for picking up the title poem from my forthcoming collection, I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast, from Your Daily Poem and sharing it at the wonderful Nonduality Highlights blog. I'm thrilled to be in such great company!

http://nonduality.org/2014/04/04/5201-i-ate-the-cosmos-for-breakfast/

Tuesday, April 1, 2014


The Flammarion engraving, by an unknown artist, 1888


I'm thrilled to announce that Your Daily Poem posted the title poem from my forthcoming collection, I Ate the Cosmos for Breakfast, to kick off their Poetry Parade. Happy Poetry Month, everyone! 




Monday, March 10, 2014

Caroline Leavitt and Tomorrow


Is This Tomorrow? I can't wait! Tomorrow's the day I get to interview the fabulous Caroline Leavitt about her newest novel, "Is This Tomorrow" and other things literary and soulful. She promises to spill her soul and her secrets. Generous woman! Join us from 7-7:30 EST.

http://tiferetjournal.com/22414-caroline-leavitt-2/

*Note* In case you can't make it live, all Tiferet Talks are archived permanently at iTunes, blogtalk, and the Tiferet website.