Author Archives: Ann Lovejoy

Sweetness & Light

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Ann Lovejoy

I’m deliberately calling out sweetness in every possible situation these days. In these dark and bitter times, we all need the refreshment of sweetness and light. When I savor the sweet moments, pleasant connections, kind actions, cheerful exchanges, generous impulses, friendly greetings, beautiful sunsets, happy birds, joyful children, lovely music, pretty lights, delicious food, warm words, embracing hugs, I feel myself filling up with all that natural sweetness and light. When our minds are open, the light can come in. When our hearts are broken, the light gets in even better. Let us be light. Continue reading →

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The Magic Of Mushrooms

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Ann Lovejoy

  Mycological Exploring These days, almost everyone I know is talking about Fantastic Fungi, a film celebrating the role fungi play in all life on earth. Much of the film focuses on the lifework of Paul Stamets, founder of Fungi … Continue reading →

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Baking Edible Wreaths

Posted on December 9, 2019 by Ann Lovejoy

For one thing, I’m more aware now of the chains of obligation that can get started with even a small act. Yesterday a young woman mentioned receiving a $5 Starbucks gift card at the office and feeling dismayed and conflicted. Should she reciprocate? Should she give something to everyone? She works in a government office mostly staffed by men and had assumed (probably quite rightly) that obligatory gifting wouldn’t be an issue. She was wondering if she should buy a big jar of treats and make little gift bags to give everyone. Yikes! Several of us encouraged her to resist the reflexive gifting, because it can cascade into far more than anyone intended. Busy young moms don’t need to come up with another 50 “little” gifts that don’t mean anything significant to anyone, including the giver. In such situations, maybe donate to Habitat For Humanity or an aid/service ground and post the card in the staff room. Continue reading →

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Nurturing Hope

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Ann Lovejoy

And above all, we can all be kind, generous, quick to offer a hand when a need is made known. Stress can make us crabby, that’s for damn sure, but let’s make a pact to stay kind. And happy. I used to think that the pursuit of happiness was selfish, shallow, and frivolous. The older I get, the greater the value I see in happiness for everyone. For one thing, happy people don’t covet other people’s land. Happy people don’t need to fill an inner black hole with stuff. Happy people don’t create competitive hierarchies or play win-lose games with people, places, or things. Happy people don’t make war, don’t steal (legally or otherwise), don’t develop addictions. As the Buddha famously pointed out, happy people don’t need anything and they like to help. So now, I’m trying my best to be a happy person. It’s definitely NOT the easiest work I’ve ever done. Wait, what? So maybe this IS the hard part? Hmmm…. Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Wellbeing, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , | 7 Comments