Fill Your Hope Tank in 5 Minutes
Â
The weekly newsletter
delivering hope, tools & permission to people building meaning at midlife.
FIRESTARTER
Hope, tools & permission for building meaning at midlife - right to your inbox, every week.
The Latest News.
Share to…
Categories
ai anger belovedness breathwork choice coaching community compassion courage death to sparkleprincess determination doomscrolling encouragement energy faith favorites fear firelight adventures firelightadventures firestarters freedom friend camp friendcamp friends friendship fruit god good work habits holidays hope ifs jesus joy leadership loneliness love mastery meditation mental health midlife mindset new mexico patience peace perimenopause permission pivot practice purpose rage resistance rest routines sadness second mountain social capital social fabric social media sparkleprincess stillness strategy suffering taos tools trainings travel trust uncertainty wilderness work writing
Welcome to the Work
For approximately one million years, I have talked about writing a book. I've said this for so long that I bored my college friends with it, and I graduated 32 years ago. In the 90's.
I know.
But I'm doing it now. At present, I'm editing chapter 11 of Death to Sparkleprincess: A Beginners Guide t...
Feb 24, 2026
work
The Hitchhiking Poets of Taos
What is, is the great teacher. — Father Richard Rohr
Â
Yesterday, I picked up a hitchhiker. She was probably 80 years-old, standing at the main intersection in Taos, New Mexico. She said something to the driver in front of me, but he rolled on. I wasn't sure what she wanted so I rolled my windo...
Feb 18, 2026
firelight adventures
friends
travel
Why Travel Matters at Midlife
One of my absolute favorite hobbies is waking up before dawn, in a foreign city, with nothing to do all day but eat and explore.
A tiny espresso in an outdoor cafe. A man in a black hat playing violin to the pigeons. Cobblestones under my feet. Cathedrals where people crawl on their knees to the ...
Feb 10, 2026
firelight adventures
friends
travel
Where's Your Garden?
I have a client in the Twin Cities - a mother of two little brown boys. She put copies of their passports in their backpacks, and goes to meetings at their school to hear the plan should heavily-armed, masked men enter.Â
Ahh, the things we get to plan for. In America. In 2026.Â
My client draws fr...
Feb 03, 2026
firelight adventures
friendship
Are You Rich in Social Capital?
Tell me if this feels familiar.
The group text bings and someone suggests lunch. One person hearts the message. Two say “Yaaaaaassss! Soon.” One says “this week is wild, next week maybe?”
Then nothing happens.
A few days later someone sends a meme. Then a birthday gif. Then a “thinking of you ❤️....
Jan 27, 2026
firelight adventures
friendship
social capital
How's Your Energy?
I was feeling pretty cranky on Friday, and I mentioned it to a friend who is a therapist and a fellow IFS practioner.Â
In Internal Family Systems we talk a lot about "Self Energy" which is the belief that all humans are imbued with a calm, clear, compassionate center — a wise knowing that, like t...
Jan 21, 2026
energy
ifs
Love in a Dangerous Time
"Do not speak until love is the motive." -Unknown
Â
When I first started coaching, I knew I would encounter people of different cultures and faiths. I love that, and consider it a privilege. But I talk about Jesus a lot and I wanted to be sure everyone knew they didn't have to think like me to ...
Jan 16, 2026
love
resistance
How to be Brave in a Pivot
If you've been following along here, you know we're making some moves. Yesterday, I placed deposits on VRBO houses - one in New Mexico and one in the French Alps.Â
Am I crazy, with this much chaos in the US and globally?Â
Maybe.
But I spent 2025 waiting to see what would happen, so I could react ...
Jan 06, 2026
firelight adventures
pivot
travel
Is it Time for Friend Camp?
I haven't always been a good friend. Over the past several months, evidence for that claim has bubbled up and flashed before me like a haunt from the ghost of friendship past.Â
Fifth grade, in particular, stands out as the time when friendship became an exercise in kill or be killed. The boys got...
Dec 30, 2025
friendship
loneliness
midlife
Skiing the Trees.
Living in Santa Cruz, California in my mid-20s, my friend Jean and I would often zip up to Lake Tahoe to go snowboarding at Kirkwood Resort.Â
On one of those trips, the powder was waist-deep and spectacular, and we were riding through the trees. Both of us were smart enough to stay away from the ...
Dec 23, 2025
choice
mindset
suffering
The Joy of Making a Little Progress
Years ago at a conference in LA, a coach, to whom I was paying a ton of money, asked in the very first session, how many of us had a regular gratitude practice.Â
The room was full of coaches and consultants so, of course, nearly every hand went up. Then he said, "how many of you did it this morni...
Dec 16, 2025
habits
joy
rest
More Peace This Holiday - 3 Tips.
Yesterday, Sam and I went to Albuquerque with a long list, which is only remarkable in context: We moved to a cattle ranch in the center of New Mexico eleven days ago, and the ranch is so big we measure it in miles - 14 by 10ish.
The quiet is so absolute here, you only really get it by standing u...
Dec 11, 2025
holidays
peace
practice
stillness
FIRESTARTER