the blog

Play – it doesn’t have to be taught out of us

The question I keep asking is “Can I play with this?” and “Is there anything I can’t play with?” And, I keep finding answers even in serious circumstances and with real life problems. It’s been a game changer for me.

read more

The Paper Calendar

The paper calendar is a work of art, a journal of a kind, a noble beast to sit at our side. We feed it with our words, with the people we want to connect with, with appointments, and ideas we don’t want to forget.

read more

What’s conveyed between the lines?

We share small and large conversations with our family, friends and our customers everyday. A few years back, I had an interesting conversation with a local contractor and ended up with a new story to share. I needed some work done on a little house project and called...

read more

Baking up a book – a recipe and an update

For those of you trying to recreate my recipe, please be aware that I’m really not sure of the exact measures … For this recipe, I might have used a lot more than 1 1/4 cups of whipped courage or will by the time I have published. And for a book of this kind the mixing – how you put the ingredients together – is important and has everything to do with our individual process as writers, artists, and human beings.

read more

The story of No and Yes

No was very powerful at one time in the world. That’s all anyone heard others say and that’s all that was said.  No, I can’t do this. No I disagree with that. No, it is not possible to have that now. And on it went. Parents said it to children. Children said it to parents. Bosses said it to their employees and on it went …

read more

If a story was a marshmallow – here’s a game to keep in your back pocket

This is one of my very favorite games. In my life, this little game has now risen to  the level of a practice!  I’ve done it so often now that it is simply a part of my life. Here’s an example where I compare story(s) to marshmallows … this exercise of taking one thing and comparing it to another is wonderful for gaining perspective in a number of different ways.  It’s a game with legs and you can bring it to your story work, the invitations that  are presented to you in life, or you can use it to add a little humor to your day.  It’s a great little learning tool to have in your back pocket.

read more

When you play – does it mean you’re smiling?

When we think of play, we often imagine ourselves or someone smiling or laughing. But one of the first things I noticed when beginning my story work was that I could also feel sad, satisfied, lonely, happy, irritated, intrigued, frustrated, joyful, angry, curious, etc. while playing with stories. My emotions were real and yet if you’d asked me what I was feeling overall I would have said I was feeling playful …

read more

Storytelling Tip # 9: Shadow Play

My shadow waves back at me as if to say hello. It beckons me to be playful, to stop and share, to consider and reflect, to become more open minded. Shadows are varying shades of grey, they are metaphorical, they follow you and they light the path. They are long and short. The distort and they eccentuate. Shadows ask us to drop assumptions, or see or do something new – they invite inspection.

read more

Listening Tip #1: If you are the listener – own the role fully

When it’s your turn to be the listener, own it fully. What does this mean? It means remembering that we have responsibilities too. For example as listeners we can choose to ….. pretend we are listening, nod our heads, say uh-huh or yes in the right places, etc. Pretending might fulfill …

read more

Knock! Knock!

Want to learn a bit more about me?

Who's There?

Subscribe to my blog

to learn about new programs, workshops, etc., keep up with my latest projects, and get my latest blog posts on story, play, the creative voice and personal leadership.

Subscribe here