The Sophia Project

I sat at a stoplight, in the rain, at dusk, when I finally admitted to myself out loud that I didn’t want to have children. I was 35 years old and couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. Alone in my car, I felt the great burden of a secret lifted off my shoulders. For years, [...]

The key to happiness, she said, is not to look for it. Let happiness find you in the small moments. I looked at my to do list. You won’t find it there, she said. I looked at my bank account. There either, she said. My mind buzzed with ideas, things I might change about my [...]

Last night in yoga class my teacher said something that made me laugh out loud. During a tricky pose, I overheard her assisting another student with his posture. She offered suggestions for adjusting his legs, his back. My back was to the teacher and the other student, my own body bent at unusual angles. After [...]

Oh, election season! The air crackles with electricity, excitement, and of course, suppressed rage. Neighbors wage silent war with increasingly larger yard signs, family members are de-friended on Facebook, and water cooler conversation ceases abruptly when “that liberal” or “that conservative” walks by. Our glorious democratic process, which grants us such wanton freedom of expression, [...]

If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree… I’ll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up, Not me! Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh for the musical production of J.M. Barrie’s book Peter Pan * * * * * * * * * * * Why is it that [...]

Twenty years ago is ancient history to me, concrete experience now dust to my now. But it was only 20 years ago, when I was a lanky kid into his second year of college, shoulders weighed down by the heavy book bag on my back. On my head was a dirty baseball hat pulled tight [...]

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about going pro. At the time, I felt energized, charged up, ready to take on the world. Everything in my work life seemed certain, solid, assured. Within about six hours of writing that post, I had the strangest sensation in my heart and in my body, [...]