Eight Tips For Radical Hospitality

By Thursday, December 18, 2014 4 0

Mainstream culture encourages a tight focus on self. That focus can feed separation from others, and isolation. Both those are tied to depression, very common in the U.S., especially during the holidays. But hospitality -- both the giving and receiving of it -- is a potent antidote to isolation and depression. It makes us rich in what ...

Passion, Lost And Found

By Thursday, November 20, 2014 4 0

Passion is a key way of being rich in what matters. When we're passionate, we're connected to our life's purpose. We're on track. Most likely, we're contributing. Do you ever get separated from your passion? I do.  I've been passionate for seven years and 626 posts about writing this blog. But I've been discouraged about readership for some ...

Ten Ways To Stay Warm During Arctic Fronts

By Thursday, November 13, 2014 4 0

Streets icy as skating rinks and other Arctic front symptoms have gripped my hometown and much of the country today. How are you staying warm? How much are you spending to do it? How much is the earth spending to do it? I had considered posting today on the historic, heartening climate change agreement between the U.S. and China to reduce emissions.  But, Bill McKibben of ...

Ten Things To Happily Surrender To, Part II

By Sunday, August 31, 2014 1 0

Being rich in what matters means living counter to mainstream culture in key ways. One of those key ways is gracefully surrendering instead of frenetically fighting. I've tried both approaches, believe me. This series is about my lessons learned (that I'm still learning :)) Last week in Part I we looked at surrendering to our impulse to dance, our aging, our appetite ...

14 Ways To Add Value To Any Situation, Part II

By Sunday, July 27, 2014 3 0

Diamond-Cut Life is about how to be rich in the things that matter, like health, financial solvency, dynamic relationships, and peaceful coexistence. Last week I named my first seven ways to add value to any situation. This post completes the two-part series, and draws from my background in counseling psychology (I have an M.S. in that field). Set a boundary. A boundary clarifies ...

Gasping For Air

By Sunday, June 22, 2014 4 0

Atop Mt. McLoughlin on summer solstice, with Colleen Kaleda (on right). Human accordion on left. Being out there in wild nature is a prime way to be rich in what matters. And in my view, the longer the daylight, the better, which is why I love summer solstice. My friend Colleen and I celebrated the solstice yesterday by ...

The Smoking Gun Of Passion

By Sunday, April 6, 2014 2 0

Where in your life are you the most frustrated? What in you yearns for change, or growth, or even transformation? Frustration is a smoking gun for passion. Our job is to follow the smoke and identify its source within us. Prior to last month, I had been as frustrated as a child with ants in my pants ...

The Best Thing We Can Each Build

By Sunday, March 23, 2014 8 0

Since starting out in 2007, Diamond-Cut Life has periodically honed and chiseled its focus. I feel like a jeweler, happily crafting ideas into posts here in my living room, like rough geodes into jewels. Last year, I recrafted my blog's subtitle from "more joy, less stuff"  to "how to be rich in what matters."  In 2014, I've realized that my "who" needs sharper focus, ...