Have you ever been somewhere so magnificent that you wanted to bottle it? A few summers ago, my family backpacked to Thousand Island Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Sierras--a place that filled us with swells of awe as we hiked the lush 10 miles to the lake.

We were a small group of mothers on a getaway to a remote Maui house perched on a lava cliffside. On our first morning, we climbed 20 feet down the cliff, stepping carefully over knife sharp edges and slippery wet zones.  Waves rushed back and forth against the rock making it hard to keep our footing and enter the deep Pacific. With no sandy beaches for miles, we were feeling wild, witchy and free. 

We had rented a cabin in Lake Tahoe for a family weekend in the snow. After a long week of work and school, we packed the old blue Ford truck with bags, sleds and kids. As soon as we hit the road, the traffic piled up and my husband grunted and cursed about the slow crawl while gripping the wheel.

I drag a chair next to my mother propped up in her bed with the guardrail keeping her secure. After years of gracefully dodging cancer, my mother now requires the daily care provided by an assisted-living facility. Today her face is peaceful, arms curled and folded over her distended belly as she breaths.

Here is a little game I like to play that helps to create more wonder in my life, but you could try it to bring more of any quality that you are needing more of…

People often ask me how I get my poem inspiration…here I give you the secret: pull them down from the sky in 10 steps.

A simple writing prompt guaranteed to bring you into presence and tap into your well of creativity…

I met my web designer in my dream. No joke. She’s also a dream interpreter, so it makes total sense.

A few years ago this month, I walked into the San Rafael farmer’s market with my 20 pound 1967 Smith-Corona typewriter and a white poster board sign I hand lettered: “Free Typewriter Poems.”

Free writing is a great exercise to use when you are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start with a writing project.

Some people collect rare books, others accumulate guitars—I have a penchant for collecting vintage typewriters.

I used to believe that haikus were only for serious poets that lived in Japan and practiced calligraphy.

I love to shift my brain from its routine analytical march through life to the wide-open playground where my creative potential resides.