Southwest Life

As we age, part of our growth and development moves us to give something back to our families, our communities or to the world. Caring for others and working for a better world is part of a...

The fact that we don’t know – that nothing is certain and we therefore can’t hold on to anything – can evoke fear and depression, but it can also evoke a sense of wonder, curiosity and freedom....

Going through my camping gear a few weeks ago before an outing to Utah, I was struck by how long I’ve had my sleeping bag. It has traveled many wonderful places with me and kept me warm and...

There are many “happiness” studies these days, looking at what makes us happy as we age, who is the happiest and where do happy people live. To be truly happy, I believe we are looking at joy, the...

I have entered new territory. The door has just opened for me into the world of dependence as I age. Hiring my neighbors to help me shovel the snow in February feels like it’s just the beginning...

One of my indoor projects this winter is to go through an old trunk I have and sort out what to throw out and what to leave for my kids when I’m gone. It’s all part of getting my ducks in a row in...

Memory is an essential part of our self-awareness. According to neurobiologist Gerald Edelman, it is connected to our actual living bodies, and along with identity and space, defines our primary...

While visiting my family in California in November, we were all stuck inside for much of the time because of the smoke from the Camp Fire. As a result, my 12-year-old granddaughter and I got to...

December feels like endings. It’s the end of the year, the end of my garden and the end of the light in the late afternoons until the winter solstice starts shifting us back. Funerals, memorials,...

November is a good time to think about books. The long, dark nights are coming, and there’s just more time to read, reflect and be. So many great books have come my way lately, and there seems to...

When my brother died in June, my remaining brother and I were extremely disappointed in the obituary that was published in his local hometown newspaper. It was full of inaccuracies, omitted...