The summer solstice falls on the longest day of the year and marks the moment when the days begin to grow shorter. In cultures where the short days are REALLY short (and last for a very long time!), like Scandinavia, it is the time to celebrate Midsummer.

In the lands of the summertime “white nigh...

 I remember the first time I walked on a bridge in Europe and saw a bright array of padlocks engraved with names and dates.

This wasn’t a custom I was used to, so I walked slowly and looked at them all carefully. I could sense the promise that each one held, together with the plea that this love st...

 For my birthday on Thursday, my friends took me to Nuremberg. It is a place of fond memories for me. I spent a magical summer there in my early 20s, on an AIESEC traineeship (https://aiesec.org).

I flatted with another woman who was warm and welcoming and had a boyfriend with a Porsche. I hung out...

But I’m not sharing that to get more cake or well wishes. Today I’m trying to remind myself of some things that should be with me not only today, but every day!

Every day can be a celebration of life if I choose it to be. Marking today is a reminder to be grateful for the continuous opportunity to ...

In April I was in Guelph, near Toronto, Canada, co-leading an Art of Hosting training. A new word the group invented was "vulnerageous", a unique mash-up of “vulnerable” and “courageous.”

This word has been traveling with me and seems especially called for right now if you really want to show up aut...

 Most of us carry stuff around with us every day. A wallet. A phone. Important papers. A computer.

But there are also invisible things that people carry. Worries. Ideas. Traumas. Dreams.

These invisible onboarders help to determine your life.

I remember when I was 25 and I moved to New Zealand. I...

Yesterday started out cool and rainy. I caught up with an old friend of mine in the University town of Erlangen, Germany, north of Munich. We had breakfast together in a delightful café with a fabulous menu. 

I’m the kind of person with a talking piece in every pocket, so I laid a painted stone bet...

I've just returned to Ohio from Guelph, a small city (sometimes called "The Royal City") just outside Toronto in Canada. If you've never heard of it, you're not alone, although that also means you don't know about "Guelphiness" or that it is both an agricultural and an innovation hub. 

Guelph sits ...

They say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I've also learned that if the inquiry is sincere, the opportunity arises...

Since the beginning of the year I have been journeying with the question: "What is life helping me see about my journey into eldership and stewarding?" So I shou...

Stories in a word...

There is a magic and mystery to language that comes along with someone who loves it. Ging Feya is such a person. For her, the Hebrew language is beautiful, awe inspiring and multi-layered. She loves both its logic and its mystery. Here she talks about two of her favourite words...

When I was around 16 my mother asked me if I'd like to meet Rob. My mother was a Guidance Counselor at the High School and Rob was the son of her colleague.

Rob had just returned from being an exchange student in Japan. Now you need to know that in the 1970s there was no such thing as sushi on ever...

I'd already been in New Zealand for more than 10 years when I complained to another storyteller friend about the incessant question: "Where are you from?"

I called it "my graciousness question." when I was feeling gracious I knew it was a question that helped people make connection, and indeed, in ...