What are you doing for Earth Day on April 22nd? My church here in Portland, Oregon is celebrating Earth Sunday on April 24th with a special service. Here are the earth-centered lyrics we'll be singing to the tune of Amazing Grace. The River Rolls Sung to tune of Amazing Grace Lyrics by Alison Wiley Verse 1 The river rolls, ...
Top Ten Lessons Learned From Dad, Part II of II
In my last post I described the first five of the top ten lessons I learned from my dad, John R. Wiley, whose physical body died at 91 this past April. This is Part II of the talk I gave at his memorial service. Dad taught me -- by example -- to be rich in what matters: community, ...
Top Ten Lessons Learned From Dad, Part I of II
In January of this year I wrote that I'm taking a break from blogging, and would be checking back in within the spring. It's late spring! I'm checking in! I feel wonderful about the break. It let me be fully present to my Dad, whose physical body died on April 18th, at age 91, as my brother Mick ...
Leaving The Space Open: I’m Taking A Break
Open space makes us richer in what matters. Last week I wrote about how we can make 2015 better than 2014 by setting clear intentions. That's because intentions can be supple like evergreen branches, while New Year's resolutions tend to be brittle, like kindling. My intention for 2015 was/is to be of service to two family members ...
Recommended: “Glimpsing Heaven”
People who are rich in what matters usually have a spiritual side. I do. It’s a sense, joyful or at least satisfying, of being connected to something greater than ourselves. Taken a step further, this connectedness doesn't end with the death of our physical bodies. It's lodged in our souls, our consciousness that doesn't just survive after physical ...
Hurt. Heal. Repeat.
When we’re rich in what matters, we’re engaged with life. We’re leaning into it, we’re giving and receiving, we’re connected rather than isolated. Then, we have a loved one die, and we hurt like bloody hell. It’s a universal experience that none of us can escape. Or, a loved one rejects or abandons us. We stagger around, ...
13 Ways To Happily Live Outside The Box
The box is mainstream culture. It's easy to live inside of it most of the time, without even meaning to. The box tells us to buy lots, consume lots and to be afraid of lots of things in the world (the things we buy are good distractions from scary things). But when we're rich in what ...
The Best Things In Life — Free, Or Not?
Are the best things in life free? Or do they cost us? What's the currency that buys those best things? I first published this post in 2011. Its popularity has led me to repost it, with a few updates and changes. Many of us were poor in our youth, at least cash-wise. I certainly lived on a shoestring ...
How To Get Through The Death of a Loved One
Being rich in what matters involves dealing with the deaths of loved ones in the best way we can. My friend Liz lost her 91 year old mother to death this past week. That moved me to write today’s post, based partly on how I weathered the death of my own mother three years ago, and ...
2013 Review: How Did You Become Richer In What Matters?
Before we set our course for 2014 (next week's topic), let's give some thought to the year we've just lived. In 2013, how did we become richer in what matters? And how did we not become richer in what matters? Many of you know that I have an M.S. in counseling psychology, and believe deeply in everyone's ...
