My crying porch

As I sit at my home desk writing a column, there is a young man weeping on the front porch of my building. It is almost directly under my first-floor window. Just the sound of his choked cries almost had me breaking down myself, so I went to the window to see if it...

Point taken

Dear Universe — I get you loud and clear this week, OK? I have a pattern. I need to break it. Did you need to bring me face to face with two past mistakes to hammer the point home the last couple of days? Sheesh. Warm regards, Nancy

Patron saint of animals

Another moment in my ongoing vibe with St. Francis of Assisi. Yesterday afternoon I went to the waterfront with a new book that my friend Diane had sent me — The Lessons of St. Francis by John Michael Talbot with Steve Rabey. There was a mellow breeze and I...

‘PRENEURing, baby

It was in a casual exchange that I first heard Sabina Ptacin tell her story of going from teaching to becoming a public relations entrepreneur. It felt like a story for our times with so many people trying to figure out what to do with their skill sets in a tricky job...

The Zen place

A recent interaction in my life got me thinking about the finer points of interacting and how often I advise people to come from a calm, reasonable place whenever possible. Mostly good advice, but lately I’m finding it requires deeper examination. Should we...