Birch
One day many years ago, my friend Eve Apprill asked if I would like to go visit some trees in Paris. It was an unusual invitation – though, given her…
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Chucking the Compost
Late last year, along with my Beloved and the bank, I became the proud if bewildered owner of a house in a small village in northwest France. This house has…
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(Not) Drowning in the C
In times of adversity, it is important to be strong within and sparing of words. – I-Ching: The Book of Changes (Richard Wilhelm, translator) This month’s blog is by…
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Reconciled Among the Stars
On a fairly regular basis, I find myself saying (out loud, no less) that I would give anything for an extra day in the week. I know my to-do list…
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When the Year is New No More
There was a stretch of time when I spent every New Year at a Zen Buddhist temple in central France. The annual winter retreat was cradled in what the Germans…
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Best Wishes
I have a school memory that has banged up against my subconcious so consistently that it has busted its way into my dreams. I’m in my school uniform, sitting at…
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Claire Buisson
Researcher, choreographer, and teacher, Claire Buisson is the Director of Artistic and Cultural Education at the National Center for Dance (CND) in Pantin, France. Since 2017, she has been coordinating…
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The Rounding
I was once engaged to a man who loved animals. His devotion to his cats and dogs was utter and complete. I loved animals as well, but lacked the immersive,…
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The Grandmother Effect
Nearly a year ago, when I was feeling stuck in certain areas of my life, a woman advised me to plant a tree. “Something’s amiss in your roots,” she said….
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Life Partner
The dance school in the New Jersey town of my childhood was run by a quirky showbiz couple: Van, a.k.a. Miss Kelly, and her husband Ted. Miss Kelly was a…
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Hannah Metzler
Oh how I wish I’d paid more attention during my high-school chemistry, biology, and physics classes. English lit was where it was at for me; science was something to be…
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Adventures of a Third Eye
My first memorable experience involving that prime piece of facial real estate, the forehead, was going to church with my schoolmates on a certain Wednesday, where, as Catholic tradition would…
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Lately I’ve Been Taking Walks
Lately I’ve been taking walks. Not the kind of walking that gets you from one place to another. Walking for the sake of walking. I started with my Beloved over…
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My Secret Sleep
The best place I’ve ever not-slept was a Zen temple in central France. Not-sleeping was an infrequent occurrence there, as the schedule was full and designed to keep your mind…
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Small Things of Consequence
We tend to admire the longer, larger things in life: the tallest building, the longest bridge, the highest mountain, the furthest distance travelled, the relationships that go way back. Today…
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Heart of Glass
From the stranger-than-fiction file: there were times in his turbulent life when Charles VI, king of France from 1380 to 1422, was convinced his body was made of glass. During…
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Ode to the Spider
Would you trade this human body for any other? I would not, despite its flaws and limits. But I’ve thought about it. I have envied the elephant its massive dignity,…
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The Good Question
What’s your earliest memory of doing good? Not being good, as in behaving well. Not doing something well, as in succeeding. But doing good in the sense of walking through…
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When the Answer Is No
I’ve already written about disappointment, but damned if it doesn’t keep rearing its pointy head. Clients, friends, yours truly – it seems no one is spared life’s letdowns these days….
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An Invitation to Wonder
Last December I led a writing workshop, Invent/ory, which encouraged participants to take stock of the year behind them, think about the year ahead, and dig a little further into…
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The Doppler Epiphany
I work with the human body, but I must admit I’m not as well-versed in anatomy as I would like to be. I listen with my hands and can feel…
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The Case for Darkness
The clocks have been turned back, the nights are getting longer, and I’m here to make the case for darkness. It’s futile to resist. It’s always there – the necessary…
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A Game of Risk and Tea for Two: Holding Space
I’m sitting down to write about “holding space” – the act of being present for others in a non-judgemental way – and lo and behold, who shows up but my…
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Serendipity, Death, and a Writing Conference in Bristol
It all started with a bit of serendipity. Several months ago I published a blog about expressive writing and received a comment from a total stranger. The kind gentleman suggested…
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Confessions of a Bilingual: Language, Emotions, and Being Understood
I curse. What can I tell you. I try not to do it in truly inappropriate situations. I speak two languages. This gives me multiple ways to be profane. I…
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Unpacking Mom
My mother worked in a bra factory. For much of her adult life, she was a pattern marker for Maidenform, the women’s underwear manufacturer, which was (and I believe still is)…
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You Can’t Always Get What You Want: Deciphering Disappointment
When I was a senior in college, my professors nominated me for a Rhodes Scholarship. I was skeptical, to say the least. I was nothing like the Harvard or Yale…
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How Writing Saved My Life – and Why it Might Improve Yours
I was bullied when I was a kid. It wasn’t a “thing” back then – there was no special counseling, no National Bullying Prevention Center, no stopbullying.gov. It wasn’t even…
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Pushing Back Perfectionism
I’m a notebook freak. I buy them whenever I come across them. Spiral-bound or stapled; hardcover or soft; all sizes, shapes, and colors; extra points if the cover makes me…
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Can You Tell Your Alveoli from Your Elbow?
An Attentive Body quiz
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Sustenance, or The Importance of Showing Up
I’m lucky. I can walk to work. I go up the street past two cafés and a bakery, then down a long flight of stairs that cuts through a park…
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Awake, But Not Terrified: Embracing Chaos in Uncertain Times
This is a good time to talk about chaos and order. Chaos because we’re up to our eyeballs in it. Order because it’s never that far off. By chaos, I…
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What Are You Worth?
Back in high school, my classmates and I were given (more than once, if I’m not mistaken) an “ethical dilemma” to think about and discuss. It went something like this:…
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Philippe Caron
It’s a little piece of good fortune to have Carvins as my neighborhood wine shop. I step out after every visit with not only an excellent bottle of wine, but…
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What Can We Learn From the Post-Vacation Blues?
Chances are you’ve heard or read some version of this quote from online marketing guru Seth Godin: “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up…
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Martin Kravitz
If Martin Kravitz has a totem animal, surely it’s a bear. He is grace with substance: an ursine presence with an easy smile and a gentle, direct way about him….
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The Original Selfie: Scars and Their Stories
The first time I became aware that my body could be broken in a way that left marks was when I was 8. I was riding a bike that was…
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Perspective, or, A Dot With a Ham Sandwich Looking Down at the Seine
Generally speaking, we are a myopic species, and becoming increasingly so as we evolve. The most recent statistics show that nearsightedness affects 42 % of Americans, 39 % of the French, and…
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When the War Zone is You: The Battle of Body Image
I work with bodies — which means I work with people, of course. But people have the unfortunate habit of climbing up into their thoughts and beliefs, and cutting the…
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Caspar Schjelbred
It’s been a great pleasure – and challenge – to study with Caspar Schjelbred at Impro Academy in Paris over the last few months. Lithe and intense, with a mercurial…
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Tatyana Razafindrakoto
Actress, writer, and director Tatyana Razafindrakoto radiates a contagious enthusiasm. One of the founders of La Formule, a collective of seven artists committed to investing their creativity in a wide…
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Death Benefits
About a year ago, I wrote my first Attentive Body blog post: an article about how to handle getting whacked by life. A few days after I completed it, my mother…
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In Defense of the Yawn
“Then all of a sudden, I yawned. What a rude bastard, but I couldn’t help it!” Holden Caulfield in A Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger When I…
