Artistry and mastery come in many forms. Most of us know what fine art looks like, and high-end craftsmanship. We recognize the skill and talent required to be internationally competitive in, say, Olympic sports. We enjoy good cooking and fancy pastry. But there ones that are easily overlooked too, and they’re just as important. Seeing
Learning a new skill is often inspiring because early improvements come in leaps and bounds. Going from zero to some level of competency may take some work, but the rewards of that initial investment often come relatively quickly. It’s not so much picking up the basics that is usually challenging so much as getting to
Motivation is a popular topic for inspirational social media posts. Quotes and memes trying to drive you into action are everywhere. Whether it’s weight loss, fitness, entrepreneurship, or saving the world, it’s all about getting fired up to go and do the thing. That kick-start is important to start moving, but motivation isn’t really what
For many of us, we can get into a rut of thinking ourselves as one person, one role. We identify by who we are in one area of our lives and sometimes forget who else we might be. It happens because we get busy, overwhelmed even, and lose the room to think and be someone
I wasn’t going to write about it. It’s a tough topic, albeit one that has defined my generation. Like most every American of a certain age, I have vivid memories of where I was and what I was doing when I heard, and have spent my entire adult life since watching the aftermath. Just a
Over the weekend, I read a book that I’m really excited to share with you and recommend that you read. Normally, the non-just-for-fun books I read have some interesting snippets at best, or are just cover some generally interesting topic. It’s rare to find a book that not only teaches me something new, but does
So how ‘bout that rain this week? A good chunk of the United States was hit by Hurricane Ida, causing enormous amounts of wind and water damage not just where it made landfall in Louisiana, but even over a thousand miles away in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Thousands of people, more, are picking up the
All of us have some hobby, some past-time, some activity that we once really enjoyed. We liked to read, we enjoyed crafting or making things, we ran, we played sports, we rode motorcycles, we played musical instruments, we gardened, we painted, we cooked and baked. And at some point in our lives, we let them
It’s been a week, here at On Her Own central. Several members of my communities have experienced severe accidents or have unexpectedly and suddenly died. My cat, Tuna, had surgery (she’s fine). Therapy is touching on challenging topics. There have been some minor human health issues in my house. I’ve had difficult and frustrating customer
Afghanistan is difficult to write about. It’s the war, or perhaps more accurately the military conflict, of my generation. People like me, Americans in our late 30s and early 40s, watched our older siblings march off to Desert Storm and the Gulf War. When 9/11 happened, and the declaration of the War on Terror, I
