Living One’s Dreams


Betsy White’s memoir had me thinking that not many of us would be willing or able to push beyond so many expectations of what is possible. Still for all of Betsy White’s pioneering achievements, she is the opposite of intimidating. I have found that is often the case for those who truly love what they are doing. Betsy warmly welcomes the reader to her world as she shares with open honesty about her struggles and the real rewards of her considerable efforts.

Betsy met and married Gene, a man who shared her passion for mountaineering, and her humanistic impulses. His civil engineering work providing access to fresh water in many developing countries made it easier for them to add international summits to their “life lists.” The couple did not allow their peripatetic life style to get in the way of raising a family. They found creative solutions to inevitable unanticipated problems with their gift for making friends who could offer them guidance and support. As a result, their lucky children got to experience a variety of cultures as well as wonderful mountain climbing adventures.

Betsy’s career focused on developing training programs and other practical resources for supporting human, and specifically women’s rights. Her cultural sensitivity and willingness to put in the effort required to learn the language gave Betsy rare access to Muslim women in the various countries where she lived and worked. When Betsy decided to pursue an advanced degree, her ground-breaking dissertation focused on how expectations placed on Muslim women affected their countries’ overall development and level of wellbeing.

Part way through the book, it occurred to me that Betsy’s mountaineering experience might have had quite a positive influence on her multi-achievement “balancing act.” It would teach the value of seeking out good climbing companions, careful planning, adaptability and finding creative solutions when things do not go as planned. The extent of her mountaineering experience would certainly have honed her intuition about when it makes sense to take risks, and when it makes more sense to turn back.

I found many valuable lessons like these in what Betsy shares. While most of us do not have the resources or degree of freedom that Betsy had to truly live her large dreams, many of us probably do not dream large enough. A great deal is possible. We risk short changing ourselves and the world by not carefully considering what risks are worth taking to include what we truly care about in the precious time that is aloted to us in this life.

Lessons from the Way of Tea Video

This short Lessons from the Way of Tea documentary shares my experience with Japanese tea ceremony (also known as The Way of Tea). I was first attracted to the art’s many sensory delights and the way it acknowledged the seasons. There was also the joy of selecting the scroll and utensils and arranging flowers for a particular gathering.

We students copied our teacher hoping to learn the many steps well enough to be able to share tea in a natural flowing way, while supporting our guests’ tranquil awareness. Only after striving to prepare and share a bowl of tea over and over again, did it dawn on me that this gentle art is a bit of a ten ton canary.

It felt quite intimate, and somehow universal at the same time. Like any art, what you get from it, depends upon what you bring to it. That kept changing.

As my ability to sustain attention to the scripted generosity increased, I could feel my own responses more vividly and I was more able to fully take in other’s reactions. I began to find a deeper beauty in everyday objects, nature and people. I sensed wider connections, and I realized that bringing caring intention to even routine chores can add meaning and purpose to life. Tea ceremony practice never failed to leave me feeling centered and at peace.

The art’s core principles of Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility (on the scroll by Takase Studio in the photo above) are built into the rules and preparation steps in such a way that I directly experienced many important lessons.

Few people, even in Japan, are interested in learning tea ceremony’s formal procedures these days. But since what the traditional art has to offer seems so badly needed in our hurting world, I began to dream of finding more accessible ways for others to gain access to their own “tea wisdom.” This latest Lessons from the Way of Tea video is one result.

A second video, Hannah’s World: Living Tea Values provides an example of someone, who seemed to be living life guided by tea ceremony’s core principles and reaping the benefits for herself, others and the land that she loves. An earlier project involved developing an accessible tea and dialogue mindfulness practice that, among other benefits, shows promise as a means to combat the serious health risks associated with loneliness and social isolation.

Mythical Stones

After many years of collecting evocative stones, somehow I managed to acquire an oriental princess, 3 hut stones, a pontificating wizard holding his book of spells, and no less than 4 dragons. The ones on stands are viewing stones. In two cases, I noticed “mythical” images in polished jasper slabs.

A small Blue Mountain jasper slab has a whole scene – a hut beneath some trees on the lower right and an oval (dragon egg?) by what appears to be a body of water.

Thom Lane created a painting inspired by the dragon energy he found in a Morrisonite slab. A closeup of the dragon image in the slab and a photo of Thom’s painting were used side by side in a shadow box that I created for an article I wrote on using shadow boxes to tell stories about stones.








Fall Colors in My Garden

I cannot help staring out my kitchen window at this time of year. The kaleidoscopic patterns of leaf colors keep shifting on the trees and bushes, then fall into delightful patterns on the ground.

The gemlike colors on cloudy days can appear quite different when sunlight sets them glowing.

10/22/25

10/31/25



11/10/25

11/11/25

11/15/25



Last year the one above looked like this:

And for comparison, after a light snow:

The Joy of Being Older

Photo by Jeff Klein

The Arlington, MA Council on Aging (COA) offers many opportunities for social connection. During my internship there while working on a Masters in Mindfulness Studies at Lesley University, I realized many elders are naturals at mindful connection. With time more precious, perfection and things matter less. What does matter is time spent together. They understand that deep listening and honesty both support the kind of heartfelt aware connection that amplifies wellbeing.

As I learned, many of the 200(!) or so Arlington COA volunteers are elders themselves. When I asked what they were most grateful for, several of them told me it was the opportunity to support others. That kind of wise appreciation is both rare and badly needed. It should not take a natural disaster or realizing there are few years left for us to understand we have the tools to honor each other’s dignity in ways that are mutually supporting.

My experience offering mindful tea and dialogue workshops to elders confirmed my sense that they might be well positioned to create and promote opportunities for the caring connection that is so badly needed in these increasingly lonely times.

During these tea and dialogue sessions, I observed: (1) caring support, (2) appreciation that deep listening powerfully benefits both the speaker and the listener, (3) growing trust and openness, (4) delight in sharing natural objects and stories (5) playful and joyous creativity, and not least (5) satisfaction from being able to support each other in ways that truly matter.

A Fall of Definitive Yellows

Although I expected a range of yellows in Menotomy Rocks Park at this time of year, the yellows had a clarity and depth to them as if they were saying, “We do not care that it has been dry until recently, we are going to do our yellow thing anyway so as to knock you socks off.”

As I wandered down to the pond, folks were setting up for the “Spooky Walk” that would take place after it got dark. The mood was very different here, but I decided to included a few photos of their preparations, just for the fun of it.

Mushrooms & Slime mold: Fall 2025

It has been a disappointing mushroom season -bland really, compared to the mushrooms in 2021. Still there were some interesting shaggy characters, crimped edges, jellies and a slime mold or two.

I saw none of the bright orange and yellow Chicken of the Woods mushrooms that were so abundant in the last few years despite the dryness. I missed them and hope they were just taking a break.




The Joy of Indonesian Ikat

Indonesian ikat weavings have always had multiple uses. They are worn as sarongs and wraps as part of everyday clothing. They express and preserve cultural identity with outstanding examples playing an important role in various rites of passage such as marriage and funerals. In hard times, these valued and appreciated weavings can mean survival as they can be sold or traded for food and other critical supplies.

The patterns are produced by wrapping sections of (usually cotton) threads so that they resist a particular dye that is applied to the rest of the (usually warp) thread. With traditional dyes, the multiple dippings and dryings needed to achieve the desired shade can be quite time consuming. Modern dyes can make that process considerably faster while extending the range of possible colors.

Once all of the desired colors are dyed into the thread, ensuring precision in the complex designs calls for a great deal of attention to detail and sometimes subtle adjustments during the weaving process. In fact, quality hand-made ikat calls for a great deal of care during all stages of the sometimes years it takes to complete one. For that reason, I was not surprised to learn that in Indonesia, Ikat is generally considered the domain of women.

I decided to hang a particularly colorful modern example over the door to my office. This one combines a dark central ikat section with many different fanciful animals and two red outer sections with sewn-on cowry shell designs.

The last image shows an indigo-dyed Ikat hanging up in my tea hut in place of a scroll. Its Christian symbols are not a problem for its use during Japanese tea ceremony practice. In fact, Christian foreigners were among early adopters of Japanese tea ceremony and there are examples of a variety of early tea ceremony utensils including tea bowls that incorporate Christian symbols.


In Praise of Loving Caretakers, & a Very Special One Named Rosie

In our most troubled world, there is very good reason to remember Mr. Rogers’ wise words, “Look for the Helpers.” We humans can be very destructive, but there are also the helpers. Even though they often do not get the recognition they deserve, caretakers are everywhere, including caretaker animals like bees.

There is no doubt that the caretaker role can be extremely exhausting, and relentless as well as having potential for real and meaningful rewards. Still there can sometimes be toxic aspects and in those cases, limits must be set. It does no good for anyone if the caretaker is seriously undermined by the process.

Recently, I needed emergency surgery and went to Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. There I met an extraordinary caretaker named Rosie – hence the rose above. Her role as Patient Care Assistant, was not highest in the formal hospital hierarchy, but to me she was at the very top.

Rosie is one of those no nonsense, hard-working, get down to business people who move with great vigor as well as knowledgeable authority. Yet when it came to caring for me, she radiated such an air of deep respect. I found myself telling her, “I love you Rosie.” She answered right back, “I love you too.” I said, “I bet you love all of the patients you care for.” She said that was true. I told her I was a member of the Rosie fan club for sure.

I knew there would be others. A nurse told me that Rosie worked incredibly hard and had been at Mount Auburn for 20 years. He added that Rosie was the one who kept that hospital floor “revolving.” Shelly, a CAT scan technician, encouraged me when I told her I was thinking of giving Rosie a gift.

I asked my husband, Mark, to take out my collection of 7 jade bangles, and tie then with a ribbon. They flopped about too much so he put them on a cardboard towel tube, bent in a bit at the ends, and covered the whole with plastic wrap.

I asked Rosie to stop by when Mark came by to visit at one the next day as I had a small gift for her. The bangles were of many colors -black carved with flowers, lavender, dark green, and combinations like the one below.

I apologized for the informal packaging when I gave them to Rosie, but she said the package was beautiful. I told her that Jade is tough, durable, honest, beautiful, and protective. The circle shape can represent enlightenment, or wholeness and to me that has the flavor of love.

I hoped some of them might fit her, but she could hang them up or put them in a bowl. As I spoke, Rose ran one finger along the colorful bangles and indeed touch is an important part of the experience of jade. I told her that the collection was valuable and might provide a bit of financial security as these would keep their value unlike stocks or our crazy economy.

When I was preparting to leave, Rosie said, “Thank you for everything.” I told her that it was such a great pleasure meeting her. It was my great luck to be able to give Rosie a bit of the recognition that she (and so many others) truly deserve. She lives in my heart as I heal both mentally and physically and her inspiration will continue to help me channel and radiate that amazing powerful love that passes all understanding but is really there for us when we need it.

I still love you Rosie, and always will, oh so very much!

“Wallpaper” Images

A while ago I tried changing to a river image on my computer screen. It did not feel right that nothing was moving and I went back to what is there now (first photo below). I used to change the wallpaper on a fairly regular basis.

I am not saying I will never change that image. But for some reason this one is proving remarkably sticky – it seems to want to stay put right where it is, thank you.