Stories by Donna Marie Todd

Sometimes things happen that you can't anticipate and response isn't optional. Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do! But responding in a way that lets you honor the sacredness and fragility of your own emotional system is very important, especially when the crisis happens to someone close to you.

Spring is pushing hard against the cold earth. Winds of change are everywhere. Do you find yourself waiting for what's next, too?

Life can get dark. Winter days drag on, political roulette between nations threatens war, people get sick, inflation soars.  Sunshine can be hard to find. That's why it's important to go looking for it.

The American retailer is hot on it to make cash off your expressions of love. Flowers, balloons, dinners out, cards, and jewelry with diamonds and hearts. But if you only had 30 days left on this earth, what would you do with that time? How would you express love during that tiny window? Never trade an interesting question for an answer!

I'm a birder. I feed the birds at several feeders and have my favorites, one in particular. I even feed them mealworms (which is part of this story). This last week we had a storm, a big one. Thirteen inches of snow. And it changed the life of the wild things. It changed me, too.

I've always loved snow days! They give us an excuse to stop and rest. We can take the time to make and eat comfort food and reconsider about what's important. After a third pandemic year, maybe we all needed some snow days! And snow days bring out the beauty of nature on display. We're at 13 inches and counting in the mountains.

It's been a long year dealing with COVID. Maybe we're all more worried about things than we need to be. At least, that's my epiphany moment!

It's been a long year dealing with COVID. Maybe we're all more worried about things than we need to be. At least, that's my epiphany moment!

On a cold winter day, I watch the world fly into my window feeder, and contemplate the state our nation during COVID, again.

There are so many changes coming at us in this world, we're all so exhausted by COVID and climate change weather disasters and the isolation of our social brains. Sometimes. no matter how strong you are, t's hard not to be afraid. So maybe making friends with fear is a great starting place for life in the new year. 

These are harsh times: COVID (again), bombings, school shootings, inflation, the intentional spread of dis-information, mistrust. We're wired for negative bias yet born from love. Trust may just be the missing part of our holiday equation!

I remember when waiting used to be exciting! Then waiting became a dreadful activity. And now I'm back to finding it intoxicating again. Life ebbs and flows and waiting is a big part of it, especially when you're at the beginning and end of it. These days, the planet itself is waiting for help to arrive. 

Sometimes it's the little things that we remember. Sometimes it's the little things that get us through grief. And sometimes, it's just fun to eat spoil your supper with a sweet. Especially during the holidays! 

Winter is a harsh mother. She has her own ways and her own rules. The creatures that break those rules often pay a large price. Winter gives us longer nights to sleep. Bears and rabbits take advantage of these longer rests. While we light up our houses and plan late-night parties. What is this is the year to rest in the quiet of winter? Winter is a good time for thinking.

This Podcast Is a Guided Meditation to Counteract Black Friday. The greedy world you live in always makes you feel like you are never enough. That you can never have enough, or do enough, or be enough.  But this is a capitalistic lie. You are always enough and you almost always have enough. So join me in an act of counter-capitalism by participating in this guided meditation to celebrate your abun...

It's that time of year again when we're being encouraged to buy, buy, buy. To slap plastic and get ready for the holidays! The bounty of Thanksgiving is lost amid the hype. Time to remember what's real and to be grateful for life itself. This episode comes with a bonus guided meditation that will help you remember how wonderful life really is.

As I grow older, I find that what I am valuing in life is changing. Worry about money is being replaced with worrying about time.  Whether I'll have enough time to do the things I want to do, like tell stories in the British Isles and eat seafood in Greece.  What once seemed so important now doesn't. COVID and years of widowhood have changed my perspective.

As a grief professional I exhibited my Navigating Loss Program at a large funeral convention this month and I got quite the education in an American death. 

The seasons change all the time. So gently at first, then with that first breath of icy air or the bright colors of fall leaves. We change, too. And our seasons are always on the move, then comes that startling change, the one you can't ignore. Yeah, that one.

All of life involves change. Sometimes the changes come gradually and sometimes change is forced upon us. Adaptivity is a human strong-suit but one we often neglect. I'm at one of those points where I'm choosing to change before I'm forced to. And I'm not the only one...

Sometimes the day-to-day grind wears us down to the nub. But when we have a chance to shift our perspective, it's amazing what we can see.

Our childhood rooms hold memories and treasures. When we leave them for adulthood, sorting through them is a rite of passage. Todd men have had and used guns for generations. While I'm not a gun person myself, when our son had to sort through his room as he moved off to medical school, he found treasure in the closet, along with memories.

Sometimes the world around us imitates our crazy human life. Take the squirrel microcosm for instance.

Letting go of the life that used to live you is hard. I'm on my third commercial dumpster and feeling lighter every day! Sometimes we own our stuff and sometimes our stuff owns us! Know what I mean?