Diamond-Cut Life

More Joy, Less Stuff

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Entries Tagged as 'happiness'

Where Do You Find Joy, Versus Fun?

November 18th, 2012 · 4 Comments · food & drink, global warming and climate change, health & well being

Where do you find joy in your life, as opposed to fun? Fun is defined as pleasure or amusement, while joy is defined as intense or exultant happiness. This isn’t a trick question; it’s designed to help us prepare for the holidays, with the long Thanksgiving weekend starting in a few days. Speaking for myself, I like [...]

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Being Rich, Yet Poor

October 4th, 2012 · 2 Comments · money, relationships

Today’s post is a  follow-up to my fifth most-read post, The Poverty of Hyperindividualism. Incidentally, this autumn marks the fifth anniversary of Diamond-Cut Life! Many thanks to my readers who have posted more than 750 comments on 490 posts, and made my writing a rich, joyful thing. If you subscribe (to your right) you might win the drawing [...]

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High Happiness, Low Carbon Footprint

October 7th, 2010 · 2 Comments · energy, entertainment, global warming and climate change, nature

I am flawed in oh so many ways. I am impatient, intense, I don’t write to my invalid mother as frequently as I should,  and while I no longer binge on Haagen Dazs ice cream, my sweet tooth is such that my husband terms my coffee a vehicle for sugar. In my favor, though, I [...]

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Having Enough — Whether Oil Or Time

June 17th, 2010 · 1 Comment · energy, lifestyle, simplicity

What does President Obama’s suggestion we curb our national oil addiction share in common with the premise of the cool book I’ve just now added to my book recommendations? The belief that change and transformation are possible. And, the underlying belief that we can cultivate happiness, a sense of sufficiency and ‘enoughness’, without always chasing [...]

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Chicago’s Vulnerability

July 23rd, 2009 · 5 Comments · community, energy, entertainment, food & drink, home & garden, lifestyle, money, sustainability, transportation

I’m writing from Chicago, where the BlogHer conference I’m attending will start tomorrow. My run on the lakeshore last night took me to Millenium Park, where I had another of my little ecstatic, falling-in-love experiences, between the gardens, the symphony orchestra playing in the outdoor pavilion, and most of all, the unique fountain and wading [...]

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Winner Of The Contest!

July 11th, 2009 · No Comments · sustainability

We have a winner of the contest for the best new link for our Resources For Good Living page. A reader named Allison (same first name as mine, but spelled differently) receives a $50 gift certificate to Powells Books (or other non-chain store of her choice) for suggesting we add Perelandra, a site on nature [...]

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The Fourth In The Forest

July 5th, 2009 · No Comments · lifestyle, nature, simplicity

If less is often more, then haiku is one of my favorite ways to practice that happy discipline. I wrote these yesterday afternoon while camping on the Fourth of July. Fourth of July at Moss Creek Campground Fireworks, begone. The piney air penetrates My limbic brain-stem. Intoxicated On The Fourth Tipsy on pine air I [...]

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The Art Of Phone Conversation

June 28th, 2009 · No Comments · entertainment, lifestyle, money, simplicity, transportation

Staycations in lieu of travel vacations let us have fun while living within our means and not racking up any credit card debt. Plane trips, especially for whole families, quickly run into thousands of dollars, not to mention the way restaurant meals cost double to ten times what you’d spend cooking at home. Plus, any [...]

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Introducing: Resources For Good Living, Plus Contest With Two $50 Winners

June 23rd, 2009 · No Comments · energy, entertainment, food & drink, lifestyle, simplicity, sustainability, transportation, work

My sidekick Hanmi Meyer and I are pleased to be posting this morning our new page Resources For Good Living. It’s a set of links, well-labeled and organized, to cool sites that help us increase our happiness and lower our consumption. While this opening date  is a bit behind schedule (the summer solstice had been [...]

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The Pleasures Of Pedicabs

June 19th, 2009 · No Comments · health & well being, lifestyle, transportation, work

Yesterday afternoon I alit at the Amtrak station here in Portland, heavily laden with my laptop, book-bag and purse. It would be quite a trudge to where I needed to go. What should conveniently appear at the curb but a pedicab, pedaled by a lovely young woman named Margaret? Margaret, who leases her pedicab from [...]

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