Cheryl Richardson's Blog, page 20

Holding hands

The wind picked up as the soft, amber light of the setting sun cast a warm glow over the boardwalk. As we headed toward the beach, I watched our shadows moving in lockstep before us. I felt happy. Grateful. Excited for the chance to be in daylight with my vampire husband – a night owl who, for years, often missed the sun. Reaching the end of the boardwalk, we took off our shoes and left them snuggled together under the last step that dropped us on the soft, mauve-colored sand, a shade that gave ...

The University of Mother Nature

Spring sunshine and brilliant blue skies are the order of the day as I stare out the kitchen window waiting for the kettle to finish boiling water for tea. Already, the six-room house I had installed for feathered guests up on the hill is a kaleidoscope of fluttering wings as a host of sparrows move in and prepare their nests. It’s a delight to witness nature’s allegiance to new life.

I write about nature a lot because I think about nature a lot. As I’ve entered a more contemplative stage of my ...

Grateful, humble guests

I’m enjoying a little vacation by the sea with Michael this weekend and thought I’d share a past tribute to Mother Nature written during the lockdown phase of the pandemic. See you next week!

~*~

This morning, I went for a hike with my friend, Beth, at our local state park – a 450-acre haven of gardens and trails along the shore of the Merrimack River. These days, the parking lot is usually full and the trails are scattered with humans (and dogs) walking, hiking, or jogging through the woods.

So...

Ready to retrain your brain?

We were dressed up and ready to drive into the city for the first time in more than a year. Our dinner reservation was a little less than two hours away and I looked forward to people-watching, seeing the Boston Public Garden come to life in spring, and enjoying the company of old friends we hadn’t seen in a long time.

As I slipped on my heels and brushed a bright color on my lips, something else I hadn’t done in a while, I started to feel anxious and excited, the kind of nerves you might feel o...

4 quick ways to calm yourself down

It was 3am when I awoke with a start, stress hormones surging through my body. I had been dreaming about being in Iraq trying to help people escape a warzone. When I opened my eyes, I felt pain in my heart and immediately thought, How do you live as a conscious human being and not feel affected by what’s happening to everyone?

Lying there thinking about the people of Ukraine and so many others who suffer around the world, my anxiety was palpable. Attempting to settle myself, I turned to the prac...

Finding certainty in uncertain times

I’m spending the weekend editing a new audio project that will be published by Sounds True in August called, Self Care for the Wisdom Years so this week’s blog is an excerpt from an earlier one about dealing with the stress of uncertainty. I hope one or more of these ideas are helpful.

These are tough times, especially for those who are sensitive and empathic. War is brutal on all fronts and we need to stay focused on the habits and behaviors that keep us centered and calm. Along with meditation...

Radiate the energy you want to see in the world

My cellphone chimed and I looked up to see a text with three words that always bring a smile to my face: Rickie Lee Jones. My friend Bruce was asking if I wanted to attend a concert with him and I immediately texted back, You bet!

Last night we attended that concert in one of our favorite places, a beautiful theater called the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA. Behind the stage is a wall of glass that looks out over the ocean and the seating is designed to make guests feel like they’...

Stay out of the storm

We’ve had more than a foot of snow here in the Northeast and this morning, as I stare out the kitchen window at the rising sunlight, it looks like a Fairy Godmother swooped in overnight and sprinkled a million tiny stars over the powdery slopes. It’s a moment to savor before the day begins…

What a week. The news of war in Ukraine is dreadful. It breaks my heart to see what narcissism, power, and greed does to humanity. So much senseless suffering at the hands of a wounded boy – a tyrant with a b...

Tiny anchors

In the late 1990s, I spent one day a week visiting with and helping an elderly friend named Lucy. She lived alone in a big colonial house near the city and each time I arrived, I’d find her waiting in her favorite wingback chair, all dressed up, wearing a big smile.

Lucy was always sitting on the porch. She lived in this window-lined room because the sunlight gave her hope. Next to her chair stood a small TV table – the center of her world – a place filled with the accoutrements that kept her da...

Slowing down the speed of life

I live in the country, in a small town with a little over four thousand residents. Our center consists of a bank, a tiny post office, and a pizza joint with really delicious food.

While we don’t have the excitement and stimulation of city life, we have a different sort of magic. Yesterday morning I was aroused from sleep by an orchestra of honking overhead. I opened my eyes just in time to see a large flock of geese fly by my bedroom window announcing the start of the day.

Later, as I walked aro...