I’m the oldest, but my mom was pregnant twice before she had me. First, she had a miscarriage. Then her second child died at birth. Her short umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and strangled her on the way out. The loss was devastating. When I was born, a year to the day later, […]
Thay’s Continuation
My teacher Thich Nhat Hanh passed away a few days ago. His students lovingly call him “Thay” (pronounced “tie”), which means teacher in Vietnamese. Thay changed my life, and my deepest aspiration is to be a beautiful continuation of him. I first went to Plum Village in May 2002. I went for 3 days. I […]
My New Year’s Resolution
I’ve been having a tough time this past week. Worrying about omicron has been part of it, but there’s been more. Not much joy, and strong sadness and despair. I was face-to-face with my biggest samskara1 – the belief that there’s something fundamentally wrong with me. That no matter what I do, I’m screwed! When […]